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U/iOT  OH8  aazmq  to  tiahtto^ 

/-.'AO'I! ! VIAX  73 


PORTRAIT  OF  PRINCE  SHO  TOKU 
BY  KANAWOKA 


EPOCHS  of  CHINESE 
JAPANESE  ART 

AN  OUTLINE  HISTORr  OF 
EAST  ASIATIC  DESIGN. 


By 

ERNEST  F.  FENOLLOSA, 

Formerly  Professor  of  Philosophy  in  the  Imperial  University 
of  Tokio , Commissioner  of  Fine  Arts  to  the  Japanese 
Government , Etc. 


VOLUME  I. 


NEW  YORK 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


Printed  in  England. 


FOREWORD . 


By  the  EDITOR. 


T J TITH  the  publication  of  this  book  three  years  of  continuous  work 
Wf  uPon  a most  compticated  and  difficult  manuscript  comes  to  an 
end . I have  had  assistance  from  scholars  all  over  the  world. 
Many  months  have  been  spent  in  Japan , where  invaluable  aid  was  given 
by  artists  and  scholars  who  had  been  associated , several  of  them  since  the 
year  1880,  with  the  archceological  researches  and  the  study  of  Chinese 
and  ' Japanese  Art  to  which , shortly  after  his  arrival  in  “Japan,  Ernest 
Fenollosa  determined  to  devote  his  life.  The  original  manuscript  of  this 
book , left  as  it  was  in  hasty  pencil  writing , was  little  more  than  a rough 
draft  of  the  finished  work  he  intended  to  make  of  it.  Many  historical 
dates , the  names  of  temples , Sanskrit  and  Chinese  names , and  even  the 
full  names  of  artists  were  often  left  a blank.  Especially  in  the  choice  of 
illustrations  has  the  work  seemed , at  times , beyond  the  grasp  of  any 
intelligence  less  than  his.  A full  list  of  these  was  made  out , but  often 
the  description  consisted  of  a single  word  of  identif  cation  known  only  to  the 
writer.  From  the  beginning  I knew  that  there  were  certain  omissions* 
which  could  never  be  filled , and  certain  mistakes  which  inevitably  I must 


* E.G. — In  the  first  volume , on  page  159,  a copy  by  Sumiyoshi  of  a painting  by 
Kanawoka  should  figure  ; in  Volume  II.,  on  page  87,  a passage  is  supposed  to  be  shown  of 
o?ie  of  Sotan’s  great  landscape  screens  ; and  on  page  96  there  is  a reference  to  the  7-epro- 
duction  of  a panel  of  Motonobu  which  could  not  be  found.  Again,  071  page  136  the  reader 
will  miss  the  head  of  one  of  the  figures  from  a screen  of  the  Korin  School ; on  page  156 
the  Professor  refers  to  his  photograph  of  a Shang  bronze  which  we  cannot  produce ; the 
same  must  be  said  of  a photograph  mentioned  on  the  next  page  of  certain  porcelains  in  a 
Pekin  collection  ; and  on  page  199  a landscape  by  Toyokuni  is  mentioned  as  being  given,  but 
710  photograph  could  be  sufficiently  identified  to  be  here  reproduced. — (Publisher’s  Note.) 


VI 


FOREWORD. 


make.  Yet  it  was  the  writer  s personal  charge  to  me  to  bring  out  his 
book  in  the  best  way  I could,  and  this  represents  my  best.  All  deficiencies 
and  errors  must  be  charged  to  me  alone.  Even  as  the  work  now  stands 
it  could  never  have  been  accomplished  but  for  the  encouragement  and 
assistance  of  Mr.  Charles  L.  Freer , of  Detroit , Professor  Ariga  Nagao 
and  the  artist  Kano  Tomonobu,  of  ‘Japan,  Mr.  Laurence  Bitty  on , of 
London , Professor  Arthur  W.  Dow , of  Columbia  University,  New  York , 
and  others  too  numerous  to  be  mentioned , but  to  whom  I owe  deep  grati- 
tude. A special  word  of  thanks  too  must  be  given  to  those  kind  friends 
as  well  as  publishers,  Mr.  Heinemann,  of  London , and  Mr.  Frederick 
A.  Stokes,  of  New  York  City,  also  to  The  Secretary  of  State  for  India 
in  Council  for  permission  to  reproduce  four  of  the  illustrations  that 
appeared  in  “ Ancient  Khotan 


MARY  FENOLLOSA. 


PREFACE 


IN  the  earlier  years  of  our  marriage,  during  our  residence  in  Tokio, 
Ernest  Fenollosa  would,  from  time  to  time,  fall  into  a mood  not 
unfamiliar  to  any  of  us  as  we  grow  older,  that  of  finding  a certain 
delicate  pleasure  in  speaking  of  his  early  childhood.  His  parentage 
was  unusual  ; his  whole  intellectual  and  temperamental  child-life,  so  to 
speak,  just  a little  above  the  normal.  His  first  memory  (and  he  must 
have  been  little  more  than  an  infant  at  the  time)  was  of  lying  in  the 
sun  on  a floor  near  a window,  and  hearing  his  parents,  his  mother  at 
the  piano,  his  father  with  a violin,  playing  what  he  afterwards  learned 
to  recognize  as  Beethoven’s  Sonata  Appassionata.  His  father  was  a 
professional  musician  in  Salem,  and  all  the  early  years  of  his  son’s  life 
seem  to  have  been  involved  and  interwoven  with  strains  and  themes 
from  the  great  composers. 

Once,  in  Tokio,  during  such  a mood  of  reminiscence,  1 suggested 
that  he  let  me  get  a note-book  and  pencil  and  take  the  impressions 
down  in  order.  He  agreed,  and  in  a few  moments  more  I was  ready, 
and  had  inscribed  a new  note-book  with  the  words,  “Notes  on  Ernest’s 
Childhood.”  The  following  pages  are  those  written  at  his  dictation. 

“ My  father’s  full  baptismal  name  was  Manuel  Francisco  Ciriaco 
Fenollosa  del  Pino  del  Gil  del  Alvarez,  the  names  Francisco  and 
Ciriaco  standing  for  the  two  patron  saints,  according  to  Spanish  custom. 
Pino  was  the  family  name  of  his  mother  and  Gil  and  Alvarez  of  his 
two  grandmothers.  The  Alvarez  he  supposed  to  be  a modified  form 
of  the  family  name  Alvarado,  so  famous  in  Spanish  History,  not 
impossibly  the  direct  descendants  of  Alvarado,  the  Lieutenant  of  Cortez 
in  Mexico,  who  married  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  the  Tlascalans. 
His  descendants  by  her  are  said  to  have  founded  families  in  Spain. 
The  name  Fenollosa  is  also  an  historic  one,  and  is  doubtless  the  same 
as  that  of  the  Penalosa,  another  companion  of  Cortez,  who  made  the 
first  exploring  expedition  up  through  Texas,  New  Mexico  and  Colorado. 
The  ‘ F ’ and  ‘ 11  of  the  name  as  pronounced  in  Spanish  can  be 
given  many  kinds  of  English  spelling.  Thus,  hardened,  the  ‘ F ’ 

VOL.  i.  B 


PREFACE 


viii 

would  become  a ‘ P ’ ; softened,  it  would  become  an  ‘ H.’  The 
liquid  sound  of  the  ‘ 11  ’ may  easily  be  transformed  into  the  sound 
of  the  English  ‘ Y,’  or  even  ‘J.’  Thus  actually  rose  a great  many 
ways  of  spelling  the  name,  and  I recall  seeing  in  my  youth  an  old 
Spanish  illumination  belonging  to  my  father’s  sister,  Mrs.  Emilio,  in 
which  the  name  was  written  ‘ Hinajosa.’  The  Fenollosa  family  was 
from  ancient  days  settled  in  the  old  Roman  city  of  Valencia.  1 knew 
from  my  father  this  one  fact  only,  and  that  his  father,  also  Manuel 
Fenollosa,  was  born  there.  But  from  a Spanish  sculptor  in  New  York, 
Fernando  Miranda,  I learned  that  several  branches  of  the  family  were 
still  living  in  Valencia,  that  there  is  a street  named  after  the  family, 
and  that  one  Fenollosa  is  a priest  in  the  cathedral  of  Santes  Juanes. 
At  my  request  Mr.  Miranda  wrote  to  this  priest  and  got  a most 
courteous  reply,  saying  that  he  would  gladly  look  up  anything  for  me 
in  Valencia  if  I would  tell  him  what  was  desired.  Unfortunately 
I have  never  yet  taken  advantage  ot  this  opportunity. 

“ I remember  also  hearing  my  father  say  that  he  had  two  cousins, 
unmarried  ladies,  living  in  Madrid,  but  that  was  about  1870.  Myr 
grandfather,  Manuel  Fenollosa,  must  have  been  born  somewhere  about 
1785  or  1790,  and  left  Valencia  as  a young  man  to  join  in  the  wars 
which  troubled  Spain  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
presumably  the  wars  with  Napoleon.  He  was  a musician  by  profession, 
but  I did  not  know  whether  he  entered  the  army  as  a member  of  a 
military  band,  or  as  an  ordinary  soldier.  After  leaving  the  army  he 
settled  down  as  a musician  in  Malaga,  where  he  married  Ysobel  del 
Pino  of  the  neighbouring  town,  Canillas  de  Aceytuno.  My  father  was 
born  on  one  of  the  last  few  days  of  December  in  1818  or  1819. 

“He  used  to  tell  me  many  stories  of  his  life  as  a boy.  There  was 
a great  rocky  height  on  which  the  Moors,  driven  from  Granada,  had 
their  last  fortress  and  palace  in  Spain.  About  its  ruins  he  used  to 
love  to  clamber,  and  once  fell  down  a steep  part  of  the  slope,  cutting 
his  forehead  deeply.  The  scar  of  this  was  large,  and  was  visible  to 
the  day  of  his  death.  He  was  a musical  prodigy,  and  remembered 
that,  at  the  age  ot  five  or  six  years,  he  was  made  to  stand  on  a table 
in  the  midst  of  a crowded  hall  and  sing,  in  a child’s  soprano  voice, 
leading  arias  from  Italian  operas.  By  this  time  also  he  was  quite 
proficient  on  the  piano  and  on  the  violin,  and  by  the  age  of  ten  was 
playing  in  public.  He  took  great  delight  in  being  leader  of  the  boys’ 


PREFACE 


IX 


choir  in  the  cathedral  of  Malaga,  and  used  to  laugh  with  joy  as  he 
told  of  the  pranks  that  he  and  a comrade  used  to  play  in  that  ancient 
edifice,  climbing  up  under  the  tower,  exploring  long-forgotten  lofts, 
and  once  lying  in  hiding  so  that  they  might  break  the  rules  against 
staying  in  the  church  all  night.  He  had  love  affairs,  too,  in  his  boyish 
days,  and  used  to  speak  of  a little  black-eyed  aristocrat  for  singing 
serenades  under  whose  balcony  he  was  punished  by  his  father.  He  had 
no  brothers,  and  but  one  sister,  Ysobel,  who  was  born  in  1820,  and 
of  whom  he  was  very  fond.  When  he  was  about  fourteen,  some  war, 
one  of  the  Carlists’,  I believe,  broke  out  in  Spain,  and  there  was  fear 
that  all  the  young  men  might  be  drafted  into  the  army.  The  war  was 
very  unpopular  in  Malaga,  certainly  among  my  father’s  friends  and 
associates,  for  the  songs  of  this  period  that  he  sometimes  would  sing 
me  were  all  about  constitutions,  liberty  and  denunciation  of  tyranny. 
A man  some  years  older  than  he,  Don  Manuel  Emilio,  also  a musician, 
was  engaged  to  marry  his  sister  Ysobel,  and  at  this  time  was  leader 
of  a celebrated  military  band.  At  this  moment  there  happened  to  be 
a frigate  of  the  U.S.  Navy  in  the  port  of  Malaga,  and  its  commander 
made  a proposition  to  take  this  band  to  America  as  the  naval  band  of 
the  ship.  The  fear  of  having  him  drafted  into  the  army  prompted 
Manuel’s  parents  and  Mr.  Emilio  to  try  to  get  him  a chance  to  escape 
to  America  with  this  band.  It  was  found  that  there  was  but  one 
vacancy,  that  of  the  French  horn,  an  instrument  which  he  had  never 
touched.  The  ship  was  to  sail  next  morning,  and  Mr.  Emilio  said, 

‘ Manuel,  if  you  will  spend  the  whole  night  practising  the  French  horn 
it  may  be  possible  for  you  to  pass  the  examination  in  the  morning. 
At  any  rate,  I will  announce  you  now,  publicly,  as  a candidate.’  The 
night  was  so  passed,  the  examination  successful,  and  he  went  off  on 
the  ship  that  day.  Before  reaching  America  the  frigate  was  to  touch  at 
the  Balearic  Isles,  whither  she  was  conveying  an  old  gentleman,  the  new 
Spanish  Governor  of  the  Isles.  This  old  Don,  as  it  chanced,  became 
interested  in  and  really  attached  to  the  boy  Manuel.  When  they  arrived 
at  Majorca  there  was  already  great  excitement  about  the  war ; the  rules 
were  imperative  that  no  one  should  leave  Spain  without  a passport. 
It  had  been  too  late  to  procure  one  at  Malaga,  and  the  authorities 
were  about  to  refuse  to  let  young  Fenollosa  proceed.  At  this  crisis 
the  Governor  was  appealed  to,  and  through  his  influence  he  was  allowed 
to  continue  his  voyage. 

b 2 


X 


PREFACE 


“ The  Spanish  band  was  soon  discharged  from  the  frigate,  but  for 
several  years  held  together  as  an  American  organization.  Railroads  were 
almost  non-existent  in  those  days  and  the  great  cities  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  much  more  isolated.  But  there  was  already  a growing  love  for 
music,  and  this  band  every  winter  had  immense  success,  giving  series 
of  concerts  and  travelling  overland  in  coaches  and  by  boat  from 
Washington  to  Portland,  Maine.  Mr.  Emilio  was  always  the  leader. 
He  was  a great  performer  on  the  violin.  In  a musical  criticism  or, 
rather,  reminiscence  in  a New  York  paper  as  late  as  1892,  I read  a 
notice  of  these  concerts,  in  which  the  writer  spoke  of  the  modern 

virtuosi  who  have  come  from  Europe  to  America  during  the  last  fifty 
years,  but  that  to  one  who  had  heard  Emilio  play  in  the  Spanish  band 
in  the  eighteen  thirties  all  later  performances  seemed  to  lack  heart  and 
genius.  I have  heard  my  father  often  refer  to  these  journeys  and  tell 

how,  as  a boy  still  in  his  teens,  he  played  sometimes  the  violin,  some- 

times a wind-instrument — often  in  solos.  He  was  always  placed  at 
the  very  front  of  the  stage,  and  was  the  pet  of  the  band.  In  all  cities 
where  they  visited  the  musicians  were  royally  entertained.  The  sort 
of  music  they  played  was  the  best  Italian,  generally  from  operas,  but 
they  also  introduced  something  of  the  new  German  school,  Mozart, 

Beethoven,  Meyerbeer,  etc.,  etc. 

“ At  last  the  band  broke  up,  and  its  members  settled  down  as  pro- 
fessional musicians  in  one  or  another  city.  Salem,  Massachusetts,  had 
been  one  of  the  leading  centres  of  refinement  and  of  love  for  music. 
The  commerce  of  its  merchants  extended  to  all  parts  of  the  earth,  and 
its  aristocratic  families  were  the  rivals  of  Boston  in  wealth,  education 
and  the  advantages  of  foreign  travel.  Among  such  wealthy  patrons  of 
culture  there  was  one  especially,  Mr.  George  Peabody,  who  was  a fine 
amateur  painter  as  well  as  musician.  He  had  a collection  of  old 
European  masterpieces  both  of  paintings  and  of  musical  instruments, 
such  as  violins,  lutes,  etc.  He  was  himself  an  excellent  performer  on 
the  ’cello.  He  had  often  entertained  the  Spanish  band  at  his  house, 
perhaps  the  finest  of  the  old  colonial  mansions  in  Salem.  When  the 
band  broke  up  it  was  to  his  urgent  solicitations  especially  that  Mr.  Emilio 
and  my  father  yielded  in  deciding  to  make  Salem  their  future  home. 
In  those  days  the  two  Spaniards  spent  most  of  their  evenings  and  many 
afternoons  playing  with  Mr.  Peabody  in  his  studio.  The  latter  outlived 
them  both,  not  dying  until  1890,  or  thereabouts,  at  a very  advanced  age. 


PREFACE 


xi 


“Before  long  my  father’s  sister,  Ysobel,  came  over  from  Spain  to 
be  married  to  Mr.  Emilio,  and  my  father  took  up  his  residence  with 
them.  My  father  is  said  to  have  been  a great  social  favourite,  and  as 
music  teacher  visited  at  most  of  the  leading  houses.  He  also  played 
in  orchestras  at  Boston.  In  the  early  days  of  the  railroad  between 
Salem  and  Boston  there  were  few  evening  trains,  and  he  used  to  relate 
to  me  with  pride  how  many  and  many  a time  he  had  walked  back  from 
Boston  to  Salem,  sixteen  miles  through  the  snow,  his  violin  slung  across 
his  back,  reaching  home  in  time  for  breakfast.  He  must,  in  these 
days,  have  possessed  a very  strong  constitution,  but  an  accident,  that 
of  losing  his  foothold  upon  one  of  the  bridges  and  falling  through 
into  icy  water,  checked  for  ever  all  such  adventures,  and  brought  on  a 
temporary  haemorrhage  of  the  lungs. 

“ The  family  kept  up  constant  communication  with  the  old  people 
in  Malaga,  and  somewhere  about  1 845  they  induced  the  old  Manuel 
and  Ysobel  Fenollosa  to  come  over  and  live  with  them  in  Salem.  The 
old  man  was  not  at  all  contented.  He  could  not  appreciate  the  advance 
of  science,  free  thought  and  republican  institutions,  for  all  of  which 
Salem  was  a leading  centre,  and  the  young  Spaniards  leading  advocates. 
In  less  than  a year  old  Manuel  returned  to  Spain  alone,  where  he  died 
not  long  after.  My  grandmother  remained  with  her  children  for  nearly 
three  years,  but  she,  too,  was  discontented,  especially  with  the  changes 
in  religious  matters.  The  children  had,  of  course,  in  Spain  been 

baptized  Roman  Catholics,  but  had  already  become  Episcopalian 
Protestants.  The  mother  resented  this  apostasy,  and  for  herself, 

though  most  assiduous  in  her  devotions  at  the  cathedral  in  Salem,  could 
not  feel  at  home  with  alien  priests,  and  a congregation  composed,  for 
the  most  part,  of  immigrant  Irish.  So  before  1850  she  too  had  returned 
to  Malaga,  and  there  lived  in  religious  retirement  until  her  death. 

Communication  with  her  in  Malaga  was  of  course  kept  up,  but  at 

longer  and  longer  intervals.  I remember  as  a child  having  casks  of 
wine  and  boxes  of  raisins  sent  to  our  home  directly  from  Malaga. 

“ Among  my  father’s  pupils  in  Salem  were  many  aristocratic  young 
ladies,  among  whom  my  mother  was  one  of  his  favourite  pupils  on  the 
piano.  I must  now  go  back  and  say  something  of  her  family.  My 
mother’s  name  was  Mary  Silsbee,  and  she  was  the  daughter  of  William 
Silsbee  and  Mary  Hodges,  both  descendants  of  old  Salem  families  whose 
ancestors  had  migrated  from  England  in  the  early  days  of  the  Salem 


PREFACE 


xii 

colony.  The  Hodges  family  had  always  been  known  in  Salem,  but  the 
Silsbee  family  was  somewhat  obscure  before  the  rise  to  wealth  of  the  three 
brothers,  of  whom  my  grandfather  was  one.  These  brothers,  Nathaniel, 
Zachary  and  William,  were,  in  the  years  succeeding  the  Revolution, 
among  that  considerable  number  of  Salem  ship-owners  and  ship-captains 
who  made  the  commerce  of  the  Atlantic  colonies  and  the  coasts  of  India, 
Java,  the  Straits  and  the  Philippines.  I think  they  operated  in  partner- 
ship. They  sent  out  cargoes  in  their  strong,  New  England-built  barks, 
and  these,  alter  a two  years’  voyage,  would  return  bringing  the  treasures 
of  the  East  up  to  the  Derby  Street  wharves.  The  brothers  were  all 
highly  educated  men,  graduates  of  Harvard.  Of  them,  Zachary  was  the 
most  devoted  to  commerce,  but  Nathaniel  became  United  States  senator 
from  Massachusetts  during  Washington’s  and  other  early  Administrations. 
William,  who  was  my  grandfather,  was  the  most  scholarly  and 
philosophical.  It  is  said  that  many  unpublished  letters  ot  him  to  his 
brother,  the  senator,  still  exist,  and  that  these  show  a profound  and 
original  grasp  of  the  political  problems  then  agitating  the  young  states. 
He  was  a tall,  thin,  dark-eyed  man  of  aristocratic  presence. 

“ My  grandmother,  Mary  Hodges,  was  a very  beautiful  woman,  with 
light  hair  and  blue  eyes,  and  an  expression  of  great  benevolence  and 
sweetness.  It  was  remarked  as  strange  that  such  a handsome  couple 
should  have  a lot  of  comparatively  homely  children.  These  children, 
of  whom  my  mother  was  one,  numbered  seven.  All  but  one  lived  to 
a somewhat  advanced  age.  My  mother  was  born  at  Salem  in  the 

year,  I think,  of  1 8 1 6.  Although  still  a child  when  she  died,  I can 
remember  hearing  some  of  her  impressions  of  her  earlyr  youth  from 
her  own  lips.  She  lived  in  the  big  colonial  house  still  standing  on 
the  lower  part  of  Essex  Street.  It  is  but  a stone’s  throw  trom 
Hawthorne’s  house  on  Union  Street,  and  hardly  more  than  that  from 
Hawthorne’s  Custom  House.  The  long  slope  ol  hill  on  the  water- 

side, now  completely  built  up,  was  in  her  childhood  one  great, 
beautiful,  old-fashioned  garden,  full  of  hedges,  arbors,  fruit  trees,  box- 
bordered  paths,  and  wide  flower  beds.  It  reached  quite  down  to 
Derby  Street,  on  the  opposite  side  of  which  were  the  wharves ; and 
my  mother  remembered  hearing  the  gun  fired  which  announced  the 
return,  after  long  voyaging,  of  one  of  her  father’s  ships  ; and  watching 
from  the  house  windows  the  unlading  of  the  wharves  below  and 
the  long  lines  of  men  bringing  up  precious  burdens  of  tea,  silks, 


PREFACE 


xm 


porcelains,  lacquer  and  Polynesian  curiosities,  through  the  garden  paths. 
From  the  front  windows  of  their  home  the  children  could  look  down 
upon  Essex  Street,  then  the  chief  thoroughfare,  and  listen  to  their 
mother  tell  how  she,  in  her  childhood,  had  watched  through  half- 
closed  blinds  the  British  red-coats  as  they  marched  up  the  street. 

“ The  three  brothers  had  all  married,  and  each  had  a group  of 
children  living  within  a stone’s  throw  of  one  another.  Of  these,  the 
boys,  as  they  came  of  age,  went  to  Harvard,  as  their  fathers  had  done 
before  them.  The  girls  were  educated  at  a fashionable  private  school 
in  Salem  amid  a crowd  of  brilliant  and  beautiful  belles  who,  at  that 
time,  attracted  the  attention  of  all  the  Boston  youth.  In  fact,  it  was 
said  to  be  the  choicest  delight  of  the  Bostonian  to  be  invited  down  at 
the  height  of  the  Salem  season  to  spend  several  days  as  guest  at  one 
of  her  many  high-ceiled  mansions.  On  Saturday  nights  the  boys 
brought  down  their  friends  from  Cambridge,  and  there  were  few  parties 
in  Boston  as  gay  as  the  Salem  assemblies.  At  this  period  the  wealth 
and  shipping  of  Salem  exceeded  those  of  Boston.” 

At  this  point  the  dictation  stops  and,  because  of  a multitude  of  newer 
interests,  was  never  resumed. 

H is  childhood  was  spent  among  these  young  cousins,  and  should 
have  been  a happy  one  ; but  apparently  this  was  not  the  case.  He 
was,  by  nature,  a shrinking  and  sensitive  child,  easily  rebuffed,  and 
imagining  slights  where  none  were  intended.  The  death  of  his  mother 
when  he  was  about  eleven  years  of  age  threw  over  him  a still  deeper  cast 
of  melancholy.  He  attended  the  Hacker  Grammar  School  in  Salem, 
and  was  fitted  at  the  High  School  of  that  city  for  Harvard,  entering 
the  school  in  the  year  1866,  with  the  rank  of  number  one  in  the 
preliminary  examinations.  At  college  he  soon  became  known  as  a 
student  of  unusual  qualities,  but  socially  he  still  remained  sensitive 
and  reserved,  and  did  not  make  friends  easily.  He  was  a member  of 
the  College  Glee  Club,  and  sang  in  the  chorus  of  the  Handel  and 
Hayden  Society.  Intellectually  his  deepest  interest  was  soon  fixed 
upon  philosophy,  and  the  influence  of  Hegel  especially  remained  with 
him  a vital  and  constructive  factor  throughout  his  life.  Just  at  the 
beginning  he  was  greatly  influenced  by  the  writings  of  Herbert 
Spencer,  and  was  active  in  forming  the  Herbert  Spencer  Club, 
to  which  Mr.  Louis  Dyer,  Mr.  Samuel  Clarke  and  a few  other 
devotees  belonged. 


XIV 


PREFACE 


From  time  to  time  he  had  contributed  verses,  some  of  them 
farcical,  to  the  College  periodicals,  but  the  real  quality  of  his  poetic  gift 
was  not  suspected  until  his  reading  of  the  “class  poem”  in  1874.  In 
this,  his  graduate  year,  also  he  took  the  first  prize  in  the  University 
Boylston  Competition  for  Elocution.  He  graduated  first  in  a class  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  with  a senior  year  average  of  ninety-nine 
per  cent.,  and  received  “ Higher  Honours  ” in  philosophy.  He  had 
won  the  “ Parker  Fellowship.”  but  instead  of  going  abroad  decided  to 
take  the  residence  course  for  a degree  in  philosophy.  The  problems 
of  religion  and  philosophy  were,  at  this  time  of  life,  of  primary  im- 
portance. He  entered  the  Divinity  School  at  Cambridge,  but  did  not 
remain  long,  being  attracted  to  the  new  “ Art  Movement  ” awakening 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Art  School  at  the  Boston  Museum.  Here, 
under  Professor  Grundmann,  he  began  a course  in  drawing  and  painting. 

In  1878,  through  the  influence  of  Professor  Morse,  of  Salem,  he 
was  called  to  the  University  of  Tokio,  then  just  opening  its  doors 
to  foreign  instruction.  He  was  appointed  Professor  of  Political 

Economy  and  Philosophy.  Thus  he  entered  a veritable  wonderland  of 
new  thought,  new  influences  and  new  inspiration.  From  the  first 
moment  he  felt  himself  at  one  with  the  Japanese  spirit.  Many  of  his 
students  were  men  older  than  he.  In  his  great  earnestness,  when 
striving  to  demonstrate  some  difficult  point  of  logic,  he  would  step 

down  from  the  platform,  and  go  among  his  “boys,”  as  he  affection- 
ately called  them,  putting  an  arm  about  their  shoulders,  and  by  the 

power  of  sheer  magnetism  and  intellect  enforce  his  meaning.  I,  who 
never  knew  him  in  those  early  days,  have  loved  to  talk  with  those 
who  did.  Among  his  first  graduate  class  rank  many  of  the  leading 
statesmen  of  modern  Japan,  and  because  of  this  fact,  a beautiful  title 
is  often  attached  to  his  name.  He  is  spoken  of,  even  now,  as  “ Daijin 
Sensei,'  or  “The  Teacher  of  Great  Men.”  From  1878  until  1886 
he  was,  every  recurrent  two  years,  re-appointed  to  his  Chair  in  the 
University  “ Professor  of  Logic,”  and,  later  on,  “ Professor  of 
^Esthetics,”  were  added  to  his  official  titles.  From  the  first  year  he 
had  become  deeply  interested  in  an  art  new  to  him,  the  art  of  Old 
Japan,  and,  it  must  be  added,  of  Old  China,  too,  for  in  Japan  the 
one  cannot  be  studied  without  the  other. 

Just  at  this  moment  the  Japanese  themselves  were  turning  from 
all  their  old  traditions  and  indulging  in  an  orgy  of  foreignism.  Italian 


PREFACE 


xv 


sculptors  and  painters  were  imported.  Foreign  teachers,  missionaries  and 
adventurers  flocked  in  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  European  costumes 
and  customs  began  to  be  adopted.  In  the  break  up  of  the  feudal  system 
many  of  the  proudest  old  Lords  or  “ Daimyo  ” had  been  reduced  to  poverty. 
Their  retainers  suffered  a similar  fate.  Collections  of  paintings,  porcelains, 
lacquers,  bronzes  and  prints  were  scattered,  and  treasures  that  are  now 
almost  priceless  could  at  that  time  be  bought  for  a few  yen.  It  is  even 
said  that  among  the  extreme  foreignists  some  of  these  collections  were 
burned  as  rubbish.  The  abolition  of  Buddhism  as  a national  religion,  so  to 
speak,  came  with  the  downfall  of  feudalism,  and,  as  a consequence,  the 
treasures  of  the  temples  fared  only  a little  less  badly  than  those  of  private 
homes  and  castles. 

It  is  a strange  thing  that  at  such  a crisis  it  should  have  been  the  keen 
eye  and  prophetic  mind  of  a young  American  who  first  realized  the 
threatened  tragedy,  and  that  to  his  energy  and  effort,  more  than  to  any 
other  cause,  was  due  a swift  reaction.  This  statement  which,  at  first  read- 
ing, may  sound  a little  boastful  and  exaggerated,  will  be  verified  bv  every 
Japanese  who  is  familiar  with  the  history  of  those  turbulent  days  ; and  is 
further  borne  out  by  the  diplomas  given,  at  successive  intervals,  by  the 
Japanese  Emperor  when  bestowing  some  new  order  or  decoration  upon  the 
zealous  worker  for  the  preservation  of  Japanese  Art. 

At  first  it  was  only  during  the  summer  months  of  vacation  that  he 
really  studied  the  art,  or  could  find  time  to  travel  to  the  more  remote  pro- 
vinces, and  visit  temples  where  certain  treasures  of  sculpture  or  painting 
were  said  to  exist.  The  government  became  more  and  more  generous  in 
giving  him  authority  during  such  expeditions,  finally  incurring  all  expenses, 
and  furnishing  him  with  able  secretaries  and  interpreters.  It  was  during 
these  temple  sojourns  that  his  interest  in  Buddhism,  both  as  a religion  and 
a constructive  philosophy,  was  aroused.  Mediaeval  art  in  Japan  and  China 
is  as  much  involved  with  Buddhism  as  is  Mediaeval  European  Art  with 
Christianity. 

In  1 88  i he  established  a little  artists’ club  called  “ Kangwakai,”  renting 
a hall  for  a meeting  place  and  afterwards  for  exhibitions,  taking  upon  him- 
self all  incidental  expenses,  and  presiding  at  all  gatherings.  In  this  effort 
his  chief  inspirer  and  fellow-worker  was  the  artist  Kano  Hogai,  already 
well  into  middle  age,  a splendid  and  rebellious  spirit,  and  the  last  of  the 
really  great  artists  of  old  Japan.  This  man,  proud  of  his  name  and 
traditions,  for  he  was  a direct  descendant  of  the  long  line  of  Kano  painters, 


XVI 


PREFACE 


had  been  one  of  the  very  few  to  hold  scornfully  aloof  from  the  invasion  of 
foreign  ideas.  But  in  spite  ot  this,  the  genius,  earnestness  and  purpose  of 
the  young  American  finally  won  him  over,  and  they  became  not  only 
colleagues,  but  the  closest  of  personal  triends,  each  believing  in  and  supple- 
menting the  other,  and  each  working  with  heart  and  soul  to  save  Japanese 
Art  to  Japan. 

Already,  by  the  next  year,  1882,  there  had  begun  a sort  of  reaction 
among  the  nobles,  and  Ernest  Fenollosa  was  asked  to  assist  in  organizing 
the  “ Bijitsu-kwai  ” or  “ Art  Club  of  Nobles.”  At  the  first  meeting,  largely 
attended,  for  by  this  time  his  name  was  spoken  everywhere,  he  opened 
proceedings  with  a fearless  and  inflammatory  speech  denouncing  a race  who 
would  see  their  greatest  birthright  slipping  through  their  fingers  and  make 
no  effort  to  retain  it.  He  deplored  the  then  prevailing  system  of  teaching 
American-style  pencil  drawing  in  the  public  schools,  and  of  studying  oil- 
painting  and  modern  marble  sculpture  under  Italian  instructors.  From  out 
of  the  great  gasp  that  followed  the  end  of  this  speech — so  more  than  one 
Japanese  has  told  me — came  the  rebirth  of  national  pride  and  interest  in 
Japanese  Art.  No  wonder  they  call  him  the  “ Boddhisattva  of  Art.” 

In  this  same  year  a minor  study,  of  which  something  must  be  said  later 
on,  was  taken  up.  This  was  of  the  sacred  drama  called  “ No,”  sometimes 
spelled  in  France  and  England  “Noh.”  He  found  in  it  most  interesting 
analogies  with  early  morality  plays  ot  Europe,  and  especially  with  earliest 
forms  of  Greek  drama.  His  teacher  was  Umewaka  Minoru,  who,  before 
the  great  break-up  of  1868,  was  court  actor  to  the  Shogun. 

Bv  the  year  1883  the  Artist’s  Club,  Kangwa-kwai,  was  on  a self-sup- 
porting basis,  and  dear  old  Kano  Hogai  getting  more  commissions  than  he 
could  fulfil.  Of  him,  writing  elsewhere,  Ernest  Fenollosa  has  said,  “ Kano 
Hogai,  the  great  central  genius  of  Meiji,  may  be  regarded  as  clearly 
striking  a last  note  on  the  great  instrument  which  Godoshi  first  sounded.” 
The  name  next  in  importance  to  that  of  Hogai,  was  that  of  Hashimoto 
Gaho,  also  one  of  the  original  founders  of  the  Kangwa-kwai,  and  a fine  artist. 
He  died  but  a few  years  ago.  The  Japanese  prize  his  work  very  highly. 

In  1885,  a special  Art  Commission,  after  five  months’  sitting,  reported 
favourably  upon  Professor  Fenollosa’s  recommendation  that  purely 
Japanese  art,  with  the  use  of  Japanese  ink,  brush  and  paper,  should  be 
re-introduced  into  all  schools.  A preliminary  office  of  a new  central  Art 
School,  with  leading  artists  from  the  Kangwa-kwai  as  instructors,  under  the 
supervision  of  Professor  Fenollosa,  was  instituted,  and  plans  for  a 


PREFACE 


XVII 


national  Art  Museum  begun.  In  the  next  year  the  Kangwa-kwai  held 
a public  exhibition  of  all  its  best  work  done  since  i 8 8 I . To  the  Tokio 
public,  and  to  the  Government,  this  proved  a revelation  of  creative  power. 

In  June,  1886,  he  was,  for  the  fifth  time,  reappointed  to  the  Chair 
of  Philosophy  in  the  University,  but  in  the  very  next  month,  July, 
was  transferred  from  the  University  to  a Commissionership  of  Fine  Arts, 
to  be  held  under  the  joint  authority  of  the  Educational  Department 
(for  schools)  and  the  Imperial  Household  Department  (for  museums). 
This  included  the  offices  and  titles  “ Manager  of  the  Fine  Arts 
Academy,”  “ Manager  of  the  Art  Department  of  the  Imperial 
Museum,”  and  “ Professor  of  Aesthetics  and  the  History  of  Art  in  the 
Fine  Arts  Academy.”  Later  in  the  year  he  was  sent  abroad,  with  two 
Japanese  colleagues,  as  a special  Commissioner  to  report  on  European 
methods  of  Art  Administration  and  Education.  This  Commission 
visited  all  the  great  centres  in  Europe,  and  purchased,  for  use  in 
Japan,  large  quantities  of  photographs  and  books. 

In  the  next  year,  1887,  the  Commission  returned,  and  the  Normal 
Art  School  of  Tokio  was  formally  opened.  Professor  Fenollosa  was  now 
given,  as  assistants,  nine  Japanese  experts  in  archaeology  and  art  ; and 
was  entrusted  with  the  task  of  registering  all  the  art  treasures  of  the 
country,  particularly  those  of  temples.  This  work  included  the  drawing 
up  of  laws  concerning  repairs,  subsidies,  export,  etc.,  etc.  These  years, 
from  1886  to  1889,  may  justly  be  considered  as  marking  the  height 
and  climax  of  his  personal  influence  in  Japan.  He  had  been  already 
thrice  decorated  by  the  Emperor,  held  a definite  rank  at  Court,  and  was 
the  recipient  of  countless  social  and  official  honours.  But  by  this  time, 
some  of  the  Japanese  with  whom  he  had  been  working,  and  whom 
he  had  inspired,  began  to  take  a more  individual  interest  in  this  great 
national  movement,  for  such  it  had  become.  During  his  absence  in 
Europe,  these  active  spirits  had,  of  necessity,  greater  control,  and 
Professor  Fenollosa  found,  upon  his  return,  that  no  longer  would  his 
be  the  single  mind  to  direct  affairs  of  art.  It  was  characteristic  of  him 
that  no  bitterness  or  resentment  came  with  this  realization.  Other 
foreigners  placed,  on  a very  much  smaller  scale,  in  similar  positions, 
have  written  whole  books  to  denounce  the  Japanese  as  a nation  of 
ingrates,  of  treacherous  underminers,  that  sapped  knowledge  and  experience 
from  their  foreign  teachers,  and  then  threw  the  husk  aside.  But  Professor 
Fenollosa  had  no  such  conception  of  the  situation.  Rather  he  rejoiced 


xviii  PREFACE 

in  the  courage  and  intelligence  of  the  Japanese  spirit  that  could  so  quickly 
adapt  and  assimilate  new  thoughts,  and  begin  weaving  them  into  the 
very  fibres  of  a new  national  growth.  Honours  were  still  piled  thickly 
enough  upon  him.  He  held  his  various  offices  and  titles  undisturbed, 
but  he  felt,  intuitively,  that  the  time  had  come  when  the  Japanese  had 
better  manage  their  own  art  affairs. 

A few  years  before,  in  1886,  he  had  sold  his  collection  of  Japanese 
paintings  to  Dr.  G.  C.  Weld  of  Boston,  under  the  conditions  that  it 
was  to  remain  permanently  in  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  and 
have  the  name  Fenollosa  attached  to  it.  In  18 go  he  received  a pro- 
position from  this  Museum  to  become  Curator  of  the  newly-established 
Department  of  Oriental  Art  ; and  decided  at  once  to  accept.  On  the 
eve  of  his  departure  from  Japan  the  Emperor  granted  a personal 
audience,  bestowing  with  his  own  hand  a fourth  decoration.  This  was 
called  “ The  Order  of  the  Sacred  Mirror,”  and,  up  to  the  time  of  its 
presentment,  I have  been  told,  no  such  exalted  order  had  been  given  to 
a foreigner.  Its  special  significance  is  that  the  recipient  has  given 
personal  service  to  the  Emperor. 

It  must  have  been  a wonderful  sight,  the  Court  in  full  regalia, 
grave  Japanese  nobles  and  statesmen  standing  silently  about,  all  eyes 
directed  to  the  one  foreigner  in  the  great  hall,  an  American,  still 
young,  kneeling  to  receive  the  highest  personal  order  yet  bestowed,  and 
to  hear  words  spoken  by  the  Emperor’s  own  lips,  “ You  have  taught 
my  people  to  know  their  own  art  ; in  going  back  to  your  great  country, 
I charge  you,  teach  them  also.” 

For  five  years  he  remained  in  Boston,  re-arranging  the  treasures  so 
many  of  which  had  once  been  his  ; cataloguing  by  number  the  whole 
collection,  and  writing  special  catalogues  for  the  various  exhibitions. 
Some  of  these  were  loan  exhibits,  brought  over  directly  from  Japan, 
others  were  made  from  portions  of  the  great  collection  now  housed 
within  the  Museum  walls.  But  this  alone  was  not  enough  to  fill  the 
brilliant  and  ever-reaching  mind  of  such  a man.  He  began  to  take 
deep  interest  in  “ Problems  of  Art  Education  in  America.”  His  recent 
experiences  in  Japan,  supplemented  by  European  research,  could  not  fail 
to  give  him  a new  and  vital  point  of  view.  One  fundamental  thought 
which  has  since  been  widely  quoted,  is  as  follows  : — The  tentative  effort 
of  art-expression  in  childhood  and  in  primitive  races  has  been,  in  all 
ages  and  in  all  lands,  practically  the  same,  and  its  keynote  is  '■'•spacing." 


PREFACE 


xix 


The  hard  pencil  drawing,  copying  of  shaded  cubes,  pyramids  and  balls, 
still  in  use  in  most  public  schools,  were,  in  his  opinion,  fatal  to  real 
development.  Scarcely  less  pernicious  was  the  enforced  drawing  from 
plaster  casts — “ tracing  the  shadow  of  a shadow,”  he  called  it.  Life, 
motion,  colour,  impression,  composition,  spacing — above  all,  spacing, — 
these  formed,  in  his  creed,  the  only  true  lines  of  growth. 

In  this  book  of  his,  “ Epochs  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  Art,”  re- 
presenting his  latest  and  most  mature  thought,  it  will  be  seen  that  he 
continues  to  place  the  quality  of  spacing,  as  the  key  not  only  of  design, 
but  of  all  the  visual  arts.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  at  the  time 
of  his  bold  arraignment  against  drawing  from  the  cast,  the  thought 
was  a new  and  revolutionary  one.  He  was  attacked  on  all  sides. 

While  in  the  first  enthusiastic  stages  of  his  work  for  a better  system 
of  Art  Education  in  America,  a new  and  very  precious  friendship  was 
formed.  This  was  with  Mr.  Arthur  Wesley  Dow,11  of  Ipswich, 
Massachusetts,  a young  artist  who  had  just  returned  from  Paris. 
Literally  from  the  first  moment  in  which  he  met  Professor  Fenollosa 
and  was  shown  some  of  the  great  examples  of  Japanese  Art,  these  two 
influences  became  clear  factors  in  his  life.  On  the  other  hand  Professor 
Fenollosa  found  in  this  ardent  and  receptive  young  spirit  the  inspiration 
and  encouragement  for  which  he  had  been  longing.  The  two  friends 
worked  together,  sometimes  in  the  same  school,  as  at  Pratt  Institute  at 
Brooklyn,  sometimes  at  great  distances,  but  always  in  perfect  sympathy, 
in  the  years  that  were  to  follow.  And  if  the  name,  the  methods  and 
the  vital  truths  imparted  to  American  Art  by  Professor  Fenollosa  are 
to  persist  in  the  consciousness  ot  the  American  people,  it  will  be  due 
chiefly  to  the  untiring  efforts  and  splendid  loyalty  of  Professor  Dow. 

Another  phase  of  intellectual  activity  found  outlet  on  the  lecture 
platform.  In  1892  he  gave  his  first  series  of  public  lectures.  These 
were  given  in  Boston,  with  the  title  “Chinese  and  Japanese  History, 
Literature  and  Arts.”  He  was  asked  to  speak  before  many  clubs  and 
private  gatherings,  on  the  same  topics  ; and  at  Cambridge  delivered 
the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  poem  “East  and  West.”  In  1893,  at  the  time 
of  the  great  Columbian  Fair  at  Chicago,  he  was  appointed  member  of 
the  Fine  Arts  Jury,  especially  to  represent  Japan,  since  Japan  here, 
for  the  first  time,  exhibited  her  Art  classified  among  the  “ Fine  Arts,” 
and  not  among  “ Industries.”  From  this  time  onward  he  began  to 
lecture  in  all  the  larger  cities  of  this  country,  and  the  demand  for  his 


XX 


PREFACE 


courses  grew  at  such  a rate  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  employ  an 
assistant  curator  in  the  Oriental  Department  of  the  Boston  Museum. 
This  post  was  offered  to  and  accepted  by  Mr.  Dow.  But  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  1895,  Mr.  Dow’s  services  were  acquired  by  Mr.  Frederick 
W.  Pratt,  of  the  Pratt  Institute,  as  instructor  in  Art,  and  with  the 
privilege  of  establishing  a new  system  based  upon  the  universal 
principles  set  forth  by  Professor  Fenollosa  during  the  year  1884  and 
put  into  practice  by  the  Japanese  Art  Academy.  His  partial  services 
as  lecturer  and  art  critic  were  also  secured  by  Mr.  Pratt,  and  thus  was 
taken  the  first  definite,  revolutionary  step  toward  establishing,  in 
America,  the  new  art  education. 

By  this  time  the  work  of  arranging  and  cataloguing  the  Oriental 
treasures  of  the  Boston  Art  Museum  was  practically  complete.  Professor 
Fenollosa  saw  no  future  there  except  as  a sort  of  showman  and  personal 
demonstrator,  and  as  writer  of  sporadic  catalogues.  More  serious 

writing  and  lecturing  appeared  now  to  be  the  best  means  of  carrying 
forward  his  teaching  and  his  thoughts.  Above  all,  he  felt  the  need 
of  travel,  to  get  into  touch  once  more  with  the  art  centres  of  Europe, 
and  to  visit,  after  several  years’  absence,  the  ever-changing  Japan.  He 
sailed  for  Europe  in  the  spring  of  1896,  spent  several  months  there 
in  study,  and  continued  around  by  the  Eastern  route  to  Japan.  Late 
summer  there  and  early  autumn  were  spent  in  a Japanese  villa  beside 
the  river  Kamo  which  flows  through  the  sacred  capital  of  Kyoto.  Life 
was  carried  on  in  purely  a Japanese  way.  There  were  no  other 
foreigners  except  Mrs.  Fenollosa  (myself),  and  the  menage  consisted 
of  two  Japanese  servants,  a student-interpreter,  and  one  of  the  Professors 
of  Chinese  Poetry  from  the  University  of  Tokio.  Japanese  artists, 
priests  and  poets  began  to  frequent  the  place.  There  were  many 
visits,  on  our  part,  to  the  homes  of  these,  and  also  to  temples,  chiefly 
to  the  patriarch  Chiman  Ajari,  a great  teacher,  now  passed  into  the 
Beyond,  and,  over  the  shoulder  of  one  of  the  great  Kyoto  boundary 
hills  to  Miidera,  on  the  shores  of  Omi  (called  by  foreigners  Lake  Biwa). 
It  was  at  this  temple,  the  great  stronghold  of  the  leading  esoteric  sect, 
that  Professor  Fenollosa  first  seriously  studied  Buddhism.  The  Arch- 
bishop was  then  Sakurai  Ajari,  who  had  since  died.  Under  his 
successor,  Keiyen  Ajari,  we  both  now  studied. 

All  the  depth,  the  wonder  and  the  romance  of  Japanese  thought 
seemed  to  return  to  Ernest  Fenollosa  in  an  overwhelming  wave. 


PREFACE 


xxi 


There  was  no  other  course  for  him  than  to  go  back  to  America, 
settle  his  affairs  as  best  he  could,  and  return  for  an  indefinite  stay 
in  Japan.  This  was  done,  and  in  the  years  following,  from  1897 

to  1900,  he  lived  in  Tokio,  though  travelling  often  to  Kyoto,  Nara, 
Nikko  and  places  less  well  known.  Always  he  was  studying, 
acquiring,  reaching  forward.  Now  it  was  not  alone  art  that  he 
pursued,  but  religion,  sociology,  the  No  drama,  and  Chinese  and 
Japanese  poetry.  He  delivered  many  lectures  in  the  various  Tokio 
schools,  and  before  art  clubs  and  institutions,  wrote  articles  for 
Japanese,  English  and  American  publications,  and  began  a clear 
mapping  out  of  this  work,  “Epochs  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  Art.” 

But  in  1900  the  demand  for  American  lectures  had  become  so 
insistent  that  he  decided  to  return  for  at  least  a season.  He  began  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  lecturing  before  Universities,  Art  Clubs  and  Women’s 
Clubs  in  San  Francisco  and  other  large  cities,  travelled  slowly  eastward, 
stopping  at  the  larger  cities  on  the  wav,  and  finally  reached  New 
York,  which  he  decided  to  make  his  headquarters.  Mr.  Dow’s 
appointment  in  1904  as  Professor  of  Art  in  Teacher’s  College, 

Columbia,  he  had  welcomed  as  a great  triumph. 

During  this  year,  too,  he  was  deeply  stirred  by  the  splendid 
struggle  of  Japan  in  her  war  with  Russia.  Ten  years  before,  at  the 
close  of  the  Japan-China  war,  when  the  just  rewards  of  victory  were 
withheld  by  the  so-called  Triple  Alliance,  he  had  said  publicly,  and 
had  written,  in  printed  articles,  these  words,  “Japan  will  yet  hold 
Port  Arthur,  but  she  will  reach  it  through  seas  of  blood.” 

The  years  1905-6-7-8  brought  him  ever  wider  and  more  apprecia- 
tive audiences.  There  is  no  need  to  dwell  upon  the  many  courses 
of  lectures  given,  or  to  enumerate  the  various  universities,  art 
museums,  clubs,  private  schools  and  drawing-rooms  in  which  they 
were  delivered.  It  is  enough  to  state  that  these  were  years  of  in- 
creasing triumphs.  Professor  Dow  at  Columbia  was  carrying  forward 
the  work  of  Art  Education  with  splendid  effect.  Already  the  classes 
which  had  graduated  at  Pratt  Institute  under  the  Fenollosa-Dow 
system,  as  it  is  often  called,  were  applying  its  principles  in  smaller 
towns  all  over  the  union.  There  could  be  no  doubt,  now,  of  success. 
But  the  most  vital  and  important  happening  of  these  years  occurred 
in  the  summer  of  1906,  when  Professor  Fenollosa,  deliberately  can- 
celling a series  of  Chatauquan  lecture  engagements,  remained  in  his 


XXII 


PREFACE 


New  York  apartments,  and  in  one  magnificent  effort,  completed,  in 
three  months,  a rough  pencil  draft  of  this  book,  “ Epochs  of  Chinese 
and  Japanese  Art.” 

After  the  month  of  October,  1906,  it  was  never  touched. 
November  brought  new  lecture  courses,  and  during  the  summer  of 

1907,  a long  Western  lecture  tour  was  made.  At  times,  when  I 

urged  him  to  take  up  the  work  on  the  manuscript,  he  would  say, 
“1  cannot  finish  it  until  another  visit  to  Japan.  1 must  see  Mr. 
Ariga,  and  old  Kano  Tomonobu,  and  some  of  the  others  who  have 
worked  with  me  for  Japanese  art.  There  are  corrections  to  be  made, 
dates  to  be  filled  in,  certain  historical  facts  to  be  verified,  and  all 

these  can  be  done  in  Japan  only.” 

He  died,  quite  suddenly,  in  London,  just  on  the  eve  of  sailing 
for  home  after  a summer  spent  in  study  abroad,  on  September  21st, 

1908.  In  the  spring  of  1910,  after  having  completed  the  long  and 

difficult  task  of  putting  into  type-written  form  the  scattered,  pencilled 
pages,  I took  the  original  and  the  typed  manuscripts  to  Japan.  For 
two  months  Mr.  Ariga  and  old  Kano  Tomonobu  worked  with  me 
upon  it.  There  were  others  also  who  gave  assistance,  but  to  these 
two  is  chiefly  due  the  fact  that  practically  all  omissions  were  filled, 
all  dates  verified.  Mr.  Ariga  (Dr.  Ariga  Nagao,  to  give  his  full 
name)  is  a noted  scholar  in  Chinese  and  Japanese  history,  and  in 

Chinese  poetry,  as  well  as  a great  statesman  and  diplomat.  Without 
his  personal  interest  and  co-operation  this  book  could  never  have  been 
brought  to  light. 

His,  too,  was  a moving  spirit  in  the  unique  and  beautiful  tribute 
paid  to  Professor  Fenollosa  by  the  Japanese  Government  in  the 

removal  of  his  ashes  from  Highgate,  London,  to  a permanent  home  in 
the  temple  grounds  of  Miidera,  overlooking  Omi.  This  was  Professor 
Fenollosa’s  own  desire,  and  a more  fitting  resting-place  was  never 
given. 

His  ashes  lie  at  Miidera,  but  his  far-reaching  thoughts  and  the 

ideals  which  he  kindled  cannot  die.  They  will,  it  is  my  belief, 
continue  to  burn  for  many  years,  and,  brightest  of  all,  in  the  pages 
of  this  book. 

The  Introduction  which  opens  this  book  has  been  put  together  by  me 
from  notes  left  by  Ernest  Fenollosa. 


Mary  Fenollosa. 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  contribute  first-hand  material 
toward  a real  history  of  East  Asiatic  Art,  yet  in  an  interesting 
way  that  may  appeal,  not  only  to  scholars,  but  to  art  collectors, 
general  readers  on  Oriental  topics,  and  travellers  in  Asia.  Its  treat- 
ment of  the  subject  is  novel  in  several  respects.  Heretofore  most 
books  on  Japanese  Art  have  dealt  rather  with  the  technique  of  industries 
than  with  the  aesthetic  motive  in  schools  of  design,  thus  producing  a false 
classification  by  materials  instead  of  by  creative  periods.  This  book 
conceives  of  the  art  of  each  epoch  as  a peculiar  beauty  of  line,  spacing, 
and  colour  which  could  have  been  produced  at  no  other  time,  and  which 
permeates  all  the  industries  of  its  day.  Thus  painting  and  sculpture, 
instead  of  being  relegated  to  separate  subordinate  chapters,  along  with 
“ceramics,”  “textiles,”  “metal  work,”  “lacquer,”  “sword  guards,” 
etc.,  etc.,  are  shown  to  have  created  at  each  epoch  a great  national 
school  of  design  that  underlay  the  whole  round  of  the  industrial  arts. 
vol.  I.  c 


XXIV 


INTRODUCTION 


Again,  what  has  hitherto  been  written  of  Chinese  Art  is  rather  a 
study  of  literary  sources  than  of  art  itself.  It  is  a “ history  of  the 
history,”  but  hardly  an  effort  to  classify  creative  works  by  their 
aesthetic  qualities.  The  writer  wishes  to  break  down  the  old  fallacy 
of  regarding  Chinese  civilisation  as  standing  for  thousands  of  years  at 
a dead  level,  by  openly  exhibiting  the  special  environing  culture  and 
the  special  structural  beauties  which  have  rendered  the  art  of  each 
period  unique. 

The  treatment  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  Art  together,  as  of  a 
single  esthetic  movement,  is  a third  innovation.  It  is  shown  that  not 
only  were  they,  as  wholes,  almost  as  closely  inter-related  as  Greek 
Art  and  Roman,  but  that  the  ever-varying  phases  interlock  into  a 
sort  of  mosaic  pattern,  or,  rather,  unfold  in  a single  dramatic  movement. 

We  are  approaching  the  time  when  the  art  work  of  all  the  world 
of  man  may  be  looked  upon  as  one,  as  infinite  variations  in  a single 
kind  of  mental  and  social  effort.  Formerly,  and  even  recently,  artists 
and  writers  seem  to  have  taken  their  point  of  view  through  partisan- 
ship. Classicists  and  Goths  flew  at  each  other’s  throats.  We  hold  to 
the  shibboleth  of  a “ style.”  So  Oriental  Art  has  been  excluded  from 
most  serious  art  history  because  of  the  supposition  that  its  law  and 
form  were  incommensurate  with  established  European  classes.  But  if 
we  come  to  see  that  classification  is  only  a convenience,  valuable 
chiefly  for  chronological  grouping,  and  that  the  real  variations  are  as- 
infinite  as  the  human  spirit,  though  educed  by  social  and  spiritual 
changes,  we  come  to  grasp  the  real  and  larger  unity  of  effort  that 
underlies  the  vast  number  of  technical  varieties.  A universal  scheme 
or  logic  of  art  unfolds,  which  as  easily  subsumes  all  forms  of 
Asiatic  and  of  savage  art  and  the  efforts  of  children  as  it  does  accepted 
European  schools.  We  find  that  all  art  is  harmonious  spacing,  under 
special  technical  conditions  that  vary.  The  spaces  must  have  bounds, 
hence  the  union  of  harmonious  shape  with  proportion.  The  eye 
follows  the  bounds,  and  the  hand  executes  them  ; hence  line,  which 
thus  becomes  the  primary  medium  for  representation.  The  relative 
quantities  of  light  which  they  reflect  to  the  eye  become  another 
differentiation  in  the  spaces,  and  the  harmonious  arrangement  of  these 
values  involves  a new  kind  of  beauty  {notan)  and  a new  faculty  to 
create  ideas  in  term  of  it.  Lastly  comes  quality  of  light  or  colour, 
which,  at  the  hands  of  one  born  with  the  faculty,  is  capable  of 


INTRODUCTION 


XXV 


endless  differentiation  and  creative  grouping.  So  much  all  the  visual 
arts  may  and  do  possess  and  work  out  through  varied  material,  but 
all  pictorial  art  and  representative  design  come  to  use  their  elements 
with  a vaster  wealth  of  combination  and  suggestion  due  to  subject. 
Delineation  and  its  possible  instruments  restablish  wide  ranges  of 
quality;  the  significance  of  notan  for  modelling,  for  rendering  planes 
of  distance,  and  for  local  tone,  is  as  vital  as  its  decorative  beauty ; 
colour  also  may  relate  to  hosts  of  physical  facts.  There  are  millions 
of  ways  of  combining  these  many  kinds  of  beauty  and  these  many 
species  of  suggestion ; the  history  of  art  records  the  ways  heretofore 
tried.  But  in  all  these  efforts  we  find  some  sort  of  order,  due  to 
the  similarity  of  effort  in  the  human  spirit  and  in  the  incidence  of 
the  social  environment.  So  Gothic  passes  out  of  Classic  and  into  it 
again,  and  Greek  methods  are  carried  across  Asia  also.  In  this  book, 
too,  the  similarity  of  the  great  Chinese  methods  of  delineation  with 
the  brush  to  our  methods  of  drawing  and  etching  is  first  perceived. 
Also  the  relation  of  Oriental  notan  on  the  one  hand  to  Greek  notan „ 
then  to  Venetian  notan , then  to  the  not  an  of  Rembrandt  and  Velasquez, 
lastly  to  the  notan  of  modern  French  movements,  is  a conspicuous 
fact.  There  are  great  points  of  resemblance  in  mediaeval  colour,  too, 
in  both  hemispheres.  The  chief  differences  lie  in  methods  of  repre- 
sentation, and  this  resemblance  seems  to  increase  as  we  approach  the 
present  day.  In  the  main  there  is  a sort  of  convergence  of  the 
two  separate  continental  lines  of  advance  in  art.  Since  1853  the 
two  have  been  partially  intermingled,  and  from  now  on  this  must  be 
more  and  more  the  case.  Whistler  is  in  some  sense  the  common 
nodule.  It  is  thus  of  vital,  practical  concern  that  the  points  of 

unity  should  be  emphasized,  and  a history  of  Oriental  Art  written 
from  a universal  point  of  view. 

The  English  writers,  such  as  Dr.  Anderson,  have  almost  invariably 
criticised  Chinese  and  Japanese  art  from  the  point  of  view  of  what  they 
call  realism.  Thus,  to  their  eyes,  all  Chinese  art  is  distortion  and 
affectation.  Japanese  art  culminates  with  Okio  and  Hokusai  because  these 
artists  seem  nearer  to  the  European.  The  French  have  a truer  view,  yet 
even  they  would  like  to  maintain  a barrier  between  pictorial  and  decorative 
art,  and  relegate  Oriental  to  the  latter  category.  The  present  volume  is 
written  from  the  point  of  view  of  principles  of  criticism  which  could  be 
applied  to  the  history  of  European  art  as  well.  Qualities  of  line,  notan , 


XXVI 


INTRODUCTION 


and  colour,  and  the  use  of  these  in  expressing  great  ideas,  are  made  the 
basis  of  classification  and  of  appreciation. 

As  far  as  I know  this  is  the  first  time  that  a treatment  of  so  vast  a 
subject  as  a whole  has  been  attempted.  However  partial  the  result  such 
treatment  must  give  an  impression  of  social  forces  caught  together  in  a 
splendid  single  sweep.  And  though  the  character,  the  individuality,  so 
to  speak,  of  the  different  epochs  may  seem  unlike,  the  parts  belong  together, 
and  will  interlock.  In  the  minds  of  present  writers,  Japanese  and  Chinese 
civilizations  are  too  often  opposed,  or  else  the  Japanese  is  regarded  as  a 
mere  copy  of  the  Chinese  culture.  Neither  of  these  views  is  correct.  It  is 
one  great  working  of  the  human  mind  under  wide  variations,  like  that  of 
early  classic  art  in  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  when  the  three  came  closest  at 
the  eastern  end  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

If  this  book  is  to  have  permanent  value  one  phase,  perhaps  the  most 
important,  must  lie  in  its  unity  and  brevity.  It  is,  indeed,  a single  personal 
life-impression,  and  I desire  to  have  this  thought  of  it,  in  the  minds  of 
readers,  an  ever-present  one.  Being  such,  it  needs  to  aim  at  no  encyclo- 
paedic completeness,  and  I shall  at  my  own  discretion  subordinate  small 
facts  to  large.  Some  readers  will  surely  complain  that  too  much  is  left 
out.  To  these  I would  suggest  that  the  omissions  are,  themselves,  of 
great  significance.  My  constant  effort  must  be  to  keep  the  parts  in 
just  proportion,  and  to  do  this  nothing  but  my  own  sense  of  proportion 
can  be  consulted. 

Nor  do  1 attempt  to  treat  all  forms  and  phases  of  Art,  but  only 

imaginative  or  creative  Art.  Art  may  be  looked  upon  as  a con- 

tinuous effort,  a solid  material  manufacture  that  persists  through  the 
ages,  and  that  never  languishes  ; but  this  sort  of  Art  is,  for  the  most 

part,  classical  and  uncreative,  and  will  be  found  to  borrow  all  its 

motives  and  its  forms  from  rare  creative  epochs.  My  intention,  and 
one  which  I believe  will  render  an  important  historical  service,  is  to 
treat  the  creative  periods  only.  In  this  way  we  see  the  separate  shining 
planes  of  movement  of  the  human  spirit.  With  this  thought  it  seems 
to  me  neither  unjust  nor  improper  to  ignore  all  minor  movements.  It 
becomes  a study  of  relative  importances.  It  may  be  called,  by  others, 
a mere  personal  appreciation,  but  has  there  ever  been,  or  can  there  be, 
a synthesis  that  is  not  personal  ? 

Most  writers  upon  Oriental  Art  have,  as  I said,  preferred  to  classify 
by  the  technique  of  industries.  Separate  chanters  or  whole  books  deal 


INTRODUCTION 


XXV11 


with  the  material  arts  ; but  while  this  may  be  satisfactory  for  technique 
or  for  material,  it  is,  if  the  subject  be  indeed  Art,  a false  classification, 
full  of  repetitions,  cross  lines,  and  anachronisms.  Art  is  the  power  of 
the  imagination  to  transform  materials — to  transfigure  them — and  the 
history  of  Art  should  be  the  history  of  this  power  rather  than  the 

history  of  the  materials  through  which  it  works.  At  creative  periods 

all  forms  of  Art  will  be  found  to  interact.  From  the  building  of  a 
great  temple  to  the  outline  of  a bowl  which  the  potter  turns  upon  his 
wheel,  all  effort  is  transfused  with  a single  style.  Thus  classification 
should  be  epochal,  and  in  attempting  thus  to  treat  it  for  the  first 

time  it  becomes  possible  partially  to  trace  style  back  to  its  social  and 

spiritual  roots.  The  former  method  may  be  called  that  of  the  curio- 
collector,  the  latter,  of  the  student  of  sociology. 

With  another  class  of  writers  who  treat  of  Art  its  history  becomes  a 
history  of  documents,  or,  as  I have  already  called  it,  a “ history  of  a 
history.”  This  is  specially  true  of  Oriental  Art.  No  one  denies  the 
importance  of  documents,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  no  one  can  assert 
that  documents  are  Art.  Documents  may  sometimes  be  falsified;  Art, 
in  a certain  sense,  cannot.  Art  should  be  judged  by  universal  standards, 
and  in  Oriental  criticism  waves  of  opinion,  often  contradictory,  may  be 
traced.  Chinese  Art  is  far  from  being  a single  manifestation.  It  is  formed 
of  many,  with  many  battling  moods  ; and  often  the  conservative  Chinese 
scholars  have  misunderstood  and  belittled  the  really  creative  movements. 
Also,  they  have  failed  at  times  to  realize  that  it  is  a dangerous  tendency 
to  mistake  interest  in  inscriptions  for  interest  in  significant  Art  qualities. 
Here  the  antiquarian  and  the  critic  must  necessarily  diverge.  Indeed  so 
entirely  does  the  critic  rely  on  his  intuitive  and,  so  to  speak,  creative 
faculties,  that  “ scholarship  ” in  art  seems  almost  a contradiction. 

Let  me  say  at  once  that  I make  no  claim  to  being  a scholar.  Chiefly 
because  of  this  I have  hesitated,  for  many  years,  to  attempt  this  volume. 
I cannot  pretend  to  original  philologic  research  in  Chinese  and  Japanese 
documents,  so  scholars  might  well  counsel  me  to  keep  silent.  But  the  fact 
of  my  having  had  unique  opportunities  for  the  study  of  Far  Eastern  Art 
cannot  be  gainsaid.  For  many  years  now  my  friends  have  been  urging  me 
to  put  a part,  at  least,  of  these  experiences  into  permanent  form.  If  I now 
yield  it  is  because  I believe  that  I have  something  to  say  that  is  worth 
saying,  and  feel  moved  to  do  it  before  I die.  My  special  opportunities 
for  the  study  of  Art  in  Japan  came  in  a most  interesting  transitional 


INTRODUCTION 


xxviii 

period.  The  strongholds  of  the  great  feudal  lords,  or  “ Daimyo,” 
were  being  broken  up  and  their  ancestral  treasures  scattered.  In  Boston 
I had  studied  Art  as  a philosopher,  and  had  also  attempted  the  practice 
of  it.  Here,  in  Japan,  I became  regarded  as  an  antiquarian,  an 
authority,  and  before  many  years  was  appointed  a Japanese  commissioner 
for  research,  administration,  and  Art  education. 

In  the  performance  of  these  duties  I was  thrown  with  all  the  well- 
known  connoisseurs,  visited  all  important  temples,  knew  the  remaining 
artists,  and  was  in  touch  with  all  public  and  private  collections. 
Besides  this,  I became  personally  acquainted  with  all  dealers  in  Art, 
and  knew  their  stocks.  But  specially  I became  the  personal  pupil  in 

criticism  of  the  remaining  Kano  and  Tosa  artists,  and,  a little  later,  of 
the  Shijo  in  Kyoto.  I studied  intimately  their  great  collections  of 
copies,  and  was  taught  their  traditions.  Probably  because  in  many 
cases  I have  chosen  to  adhere  to  these  inherited  traditions  the  modern 
school  of  young  Japanese  critics,  which  prides  itself  upon  being  radical, 
is  inclined  to  call  me  over-conservative.  There  is  no  doubt  that  future 
study,  if  seriously  carried  forward,  will  change  many  estimates,  but  if 
we  waited  for  this  nothing  would  ever  be  written.  Later  generations 
must  build  on  the  earlier,  and  I believe  that  my  unified  impressions, 
even  if  defective,  must  have  a value. 

The  question  of  the  Roman-letter  spelling  of  the  Chinese  and 
Japanese  names  and  of  their  pronunciation  may  lead  to  some  confusion. 
This  is  especially  true  of  the  Chinese.  By  most  European  scholars 
these  are  written  in  modern  Mandarin.  This  is,  necessarily,  a purely 
modern  pronunciation.  The  Japanese  way  of  pronouncing  the  names 
of  old  Chinese  artists  is  based  upon  the  older  Chinese  speech,  preserved 
intact  by  the  phonetic  nature  of  the  Japanese  syllabary.  It  is  thus 
inevitably  much  nearer  to  the  old  Chinese.  This  may  be  further 
proved  by  the  translations,  into  the  Japanese  syllabary,  of  old  East 
Indian  names,  which,  in  their  own  land,  have  to-day  an  unchanged 
pronunciation,  and  by  rhymes  in  old  Chinese  poetryq  which  is  as  well 
known  to  all  educated  Japanese  as  are  Homer  and  Virgil  to  the 
English  undergraduate.  It  is  perhaps  natural  that  our  European  and 
American  Sinologues,  who  have  won  their  mastery  of  modern  Chinese 
sounds  by  hard  study,  should  not  wish  to  give  them  up.  But  it  is 
also  natural  that  Japanese  students,  and  foreigners  who  have  studied 
Art  in  Japan,  feeling  that  they  possess  the  truer  sound,  and  having 


INTRODUCTION 


XXIX 


done  a large  amount  of  critical  work,  and  made  strong  efforts  to 
assist  in  the  preservation  of  Chinese  Art,  should  hold  to  theirs.  Chinese 
Art  of  most  periods  is  still  to  be  studied  in  Japan,  and  the  Japanese 
themselves  feel  that  it  is  their  privilege  to  interpret  Chinese  Art  to 
the  world.  Therefore  I shall  follow,  in  the  main,  the  use  of  the  Japanese 
sound  of  old  Chinese,  referring  in  brackets  and  in  the  Index  to  the 
Mandarin  pronunciation.  It  is  no  slight  matter,  too,  that  the  Japanese 
sound  is  less  harsh  and  forbidding  than  the  Mandarin,  and  stays  the 
more  easily  on  the  tongue. 

The  theory  here  propounded  of  elements  of  change  and  growth 
in  Chinese  culture  may  seem  to  some  readers  quite  rash,  and  perhaps 
insufficiently  insubstantiated.  I plead  guilty  to  the  charge  of  being 
dogmatic.  This  fact  of  change  and  of  individual  force  at  all  points 
is  so  universal  a background  or  medium,  like  the  air  we  breathe,  that 
I have  to  assume  it  without  waiting  for  proof.  It  is,  after  all,  a 
much  more  natural  presupposition  than  the  one  so  generally  and  so 
lightly  taken,  that  China  has  remained  at  a dead  level  for  hundreds 
of  years.  To  stop  in  the  course  of  my  impressions  and  attempt  to 
enforce  each  minor  point  that  might  possibly  arouse  opposition,  would 
result  only  in  confusion.  After  all,  I am  not  necessarily  writing  this  book 
for  scholars,  but  for  those  who  would  try  to  form  a clear  conception 
of  the  essential  humanity  of  these  peoples.  The  idea  may  be  a grand 
hypothesis ; it  surely  would  never  be  promulgated  by  the  scholars, 
but  I believe  it  to  be  necessary  that  someone  should  attempt  it. 
Once  granting  this  point  of  view  it  revivifies  for  us  all  Chinese  insti- 
tutions, philosophy,  art,  prose-literature,  and  poetry.  It  is  sound 
evolutionary  doctrine.  I fully  confess  that  my  personal  contribution 
to  the  evidence  is  a digest  of  the  art  itself,  the  primary  document. 
Art  is  a sensitive  barometer  to  measure  the  buoyancy  of  spirit. 

Beyond  this  I must  rest  on  the  scholarship  of  my  Japanese 
colleagues.  For  nearly  thirty  years  I have  had  the  constant  and  minute 
assistance,  by  way  of  teaching,  interpretation  and  translation,  of  such 
men  as  Dr.  Ariga  Nagao,  Baron  Hamao,  Viscount  Kaneko,  Professor 
Inouye,  Mr.  Hirai,  Mr.  Tatsumi,  Professor  Nemoto  (the  greatest  living 
authority  on  the  Y-King),  and  last,  but  not  least,  Mori  Kainen  (the 
powerful  Professor  of  Chinese  Poetry  in  the  Imperial  University). 
Other  scholars  to  whom  I owe  tribute  might  be  enumerated  by  the 
dozens.  Marco  Polo  is  surely  worth  something. 


XXX 


INTRODUCTION 


In  bringing  this  Introduction  to  a close  I must  give  one  word  of 
warning  that  may  be  needed  by  even  an  indulgent  reader.  In 
attempting  to  make  this  a work  of  social  forces  as  well  as  of  Art  it 
may  happen  that  the  social  and  artistic  periods  are  not  quite  synchronous 
with  the  political  names  and  dates,  since  the  causes  group  themselves 
with  slightly  different  incidence.  Thus  the  Tosa  movement  already 
begins  in  late  Fujiwara,  before  the  Kamakura  Shogunate  is  established. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Ashikaga  form  of  Chinese  Art  does  not  come 
in  strongly  until  some  time  after  the  founding  of  the  dynasty.  Moreover, 
if  we  are  careful,  we  should  see  that  all  these  movements  overlap,  and 
frequently  run  parallel.  Thus  the  Zen  movement  has  already  begun 
at  Kioto  and  Kamakura  long  before  its  flowering  in  Ashikaga,  and 
side  by  side  with  Tosa  genre.  Also  in  Tokugawa,  many  waves,  large 
and  small,  over-  and  inter-lap.  So  that  chronology  alone  is  not  the 
key  to  classification.  It  is,  of  course,  the  inner  flow  of  real  causes 
that  we  follow.  It  will  not  be  found  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the 
persistence  of  old  schools  through  the  days  of  their  successors.  Even 
Kose  has  come  down  to  our  day  with  Shoseki.  It  is  not  names  but 
powers  that  we  deal  with.  Our  plan  is  to  take  the  most  creative  and 
dominant  work  of  a period  and  describe  it  as  the  chief  affair. 

After  all,  all  classification  must  be  false.  History  is  an  individual 
series  of  complex  manifestations.  To  label  parts  of  these  under  universal 
categories  is  deceptive.  Yet  we  have  to  proceed  by  noting  broad 
differences,  and  we  must  not  confuse  the  effect  by  taking  too  much 
time  to  correct  the  error  by  overlaying  the  broad  with  a host  of  minor 
considerations.  It  is  all  a question  of  proportioning,  like  Art  itself, 
and  I have  to  decide  upon  how  to  produce  what  I deem  just  effects. 


Japanese  Painting 


Crisri&se  Paintin 


2000 

b.o. 


r>oo  o iooo  woo 

E-O.  A.D.  A.D.  A.D 


CONTENTS 


VOLUME  I. 

Chapter  Page 

I.  Primitive  Chinese  Art.  Pacific  Influ- 
ence ........  i 

II.  Chinese  Art  of  the  Han  Dynasty. 

Mesopotamian  Influence  ...  17 

III.  Early  Chinese  Buddhist  Art.  From  the 

Han  Dynasty  to  the  Tang  . . . 28 


IV. 

Early  Corean  and  Japanese  Buddhist 
Art.  Suiko  Period  .... 

45 

V. 

Greco-Buddhist  Art  in  China. 
Tang  ..... 

Early 

73 

VI. 

Greco-Buddhist  Art  in  Japan. 
Period  ..... 

Nara 

90 

VII. 

Mystical  Buddhist  Art  in  China. 
Dynasty  ..... 

Tang 

1 1 6 

VIII. 

Mystical  Buddhist  Art  in  Japan, 
wara  Period 

F uji- 

143 

IX. 

Feudal  Art  in  Japan.  Kamakura  Period 

169 

ERRATA. 

Page  43,  line  27,  read  “ Seirioji  '*  /or  “ Seiroji.” 

Plate  facing  page  34,  read  “ Seirioji " for  “ Serioji.” 
Pages  43,  66,  69,  etc.,  read  “ nai for  “naive.” 
Page  76,  line  12,  read  “ Mausolos  *'  f*r  “ Mausolas.** 
Plate  facing  page  74,  read  “ Mausolos  ” for  “ Mausolas 
Page  91,  line  25,  read  “ Kanimanji  "for  “ Kanemanji 
Page  136,  line  25,  read  “it "for  “in.” 

Page  153,  line  31,  read  “ it”  for  “in.’* 

Page  197,  line  4,  read  “cite”  for  “show.” 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


VOLUME  I. 

IN  COLOUR. 

Portrait  of  Prince  Sho  Toku  Frontispiece 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

Detail  of  the  Frescoes  at  Horiuji  45 

Detail  of  the  Frescoes  at  Horiuji  90 

From  the  Twenty  Rolls  called  “Miracles  of  Kasuga  ” 168 

Owned-  by  the  Imperial  Household  of  Japan. 

IN  MONOCHROME. 

New  Zealand  House,  showing  Totem  Poles  6 

Ancient  Chinese  Bronze,  showing  Slanting  Eyes  6 

Long-nosed  Wooden  Mask,  from  the  Philippines  10 

Ancient  Shinto  Mask  with  Long  Nose  10 

Clay  “Chafing-dishes”  from  Shell  Mounds  10 

Wand,  or  Double  Fan,  used  by  Natives  in  Dancing  12 

Canoe  Ornament  12 

Carved  Handle  of  Lime  Spatula  12 

British  Museum. 

Alaskan  Blanket,  with  Eyes  12 

Three-legged  Chinese  Bronze  14 

Old  Chinese  Bronze  14 

Chinese  Bronze  with  Long-necked  Bird  14 

Primitive  Forms  of  the  Fish  or  Marine  Monster,  the  Ancestor  of  the 

Chinese  Dragon  14 

Han  Vase  with  Raised  Band  of  Slender  Animal  Forms  22 

Mr.  Freer. 


xxxiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

TO  FACE  PAGE: 

Clay  “Chafing-dish”  Design:  Forms  of  Cattle  in  Full  Relief  22 

Han  Mirror  with  Twelve-pointed  Star,  from  Kinseki  22 

Han  Jar  with  Cover  representing  Mountain  Ranges  22 

Five  Examples  of  Stone  Carving  26 

Eastern  Gate  of  Sanchi  Tope  30 

One  of  the  Buddhist  Lotos  Thrones,  often  called  “Moon  Stones”  32 

From  Ceylon. 

Early  Statue  of  Buddha  34 

At  Serioji,  near  Kioto. 

Bronze  Figures  on  a Priest’s  Staff-head  40 

The  “Five  Kokuzo  ” 42 

At  Toji,  Kioto. 

The  Famous  Corean  Tamamushi  Shrine  at  Horiuji  46 

Detail  of  Painting  of  Tamamushi  Shrine  48 

Horiuji. 

Painting  on  the  Doors  of  the  Tamamushi  Shrine  48 

The  Corean  Standing  Kwannon  with  a Vase  5° 

Still  on  the  great  altar  of  the  Kondo  of  Horiuji.  Front  and  profile  views. 

The  Very  Attenuated  Bronze  Seated  Kwannon  of  Contemplation  50 

At  Horiuji. 

Portrait  of  Shotoku-Taishi  and  his  two  Children  52 

By  the  Corean  Prince  Asa. 

Kondo  Altar  Trinity  60 

By  Tori  Busshi,  at  Horiuji. 

The  Chuguji  Kwannon  62 

By  Shotoku-  Taishi. 

Bronze  Statuette,  showing  clearly  the  Greek  Influence  66 

Temple  of  Horiuji. 

Bronze  Trinity,  with  Screen  68 

Horiuji,  Nara. 

Detail  of  Screen  from  the  Bronze  Trinity  at  Horiuji  7° 

Statue  of  Mausolos  74 


Statue  of  Buddha  as  an  Indian  Prince 


74 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xxxv 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

Group  of  Heads  from  the  Lahore  Museum  76 

Statue  of  a Scythian  Emperor  7g 

Buddhist  Carvings  from  Khotan  80 

Khotan  Bodhisattwa,  Sum  Type  80 

Painting  from  Khotan,  Figure  on  Horse  80 

Small  Statue  of  Buddha  Carved  in  Stone  among  Greek  Acanthus  Leaves  82 
Clay  Head  of  a Boy  Dug  Up  at  Khotan  84 

By  permission  of  Dr.  Aurel  Stein. 

The  Soft  Clay  Statue  of  Buddha  Seated  86 

At  Udzumasa,  near  Kioto. 

Bronze  Buddha  at  Kanimanji  92 

Detail  of  Frescoes  at  the  Temple  of  Horiuji,  Nara  94 

Greco-Buddhist  Sculptures  in  Stone  94 

From  the  Crypt  of  the  almost  vanished  Temple  of  Gangoji,  in  Nara. 

The  Bodhisattwa  Standing  at  the  Left  of  the  Yakushiji  Trinity  96 

From  the  Black  Bronte  Trinity  at  Yakushiji. 

Yakushiji  Black  Bronze  Trinity  seen  in  Profile  98 

The  “ Kagenkei,”  or  Hanging  Bronze  Drum  ioo 

At  the  Shinto  Temple  of  Kasuga,  Nara. 

A Mass  of  Broken  Statues  and  Interesting  Refuse  ioo 

Such  as  was  found  by  Professor  Fenollosa  in  the  year  1880,  at  Shodaiji. 

The  Sangetsudo  “Mace-thrower”  at  Todaiji  102 

Large  Clay  Figure  of  a Bodhisattwa,  sometimes  called  “Bonten”  102 

Temple  of  Sangetsudo. 

Seated  Lacquer  Figure  104 

Now  in  the  Tokio  Fine  Arts  School. 

Three  Humorous  Imps  106 

At  Kofukuji. 

Panel  from  the  Great  Bronze  Lantern  in  front  of  the  Dai  Butsu 

Temple  at  Nara  io8 


Painted  Designs  from  Shosoin 


1 10 


xxxvi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

Designs  Painted  on  Leather  from  Shosoin  iio 

Paintings  on  the  Back  of  Musical  Instruments  called  “Biwa”  112 

Outline  of  the  Building  known  as  Shosoin  II4 

Mirror  from  Shosoin  II4 

Silver  Ewer,  showing  a Design  of  a Winged  Horse  114 

At  Horiuji. 

Famous  Painting  of  a Waterfall,  said  to  be  an  Original  120 

By  Omakitsu  ( Wans;  Wei) . At  the  Temple  of  Chishakuin  in  Kioto. 

Famous  Kwannon  122 

By  Enriuhon  (Yen  Li-pen) . Air.  Charles  L.  Freer. 

Standing  Kwannon  132 

By  Godoshi  (Wu  Tao-tzu).  Collection  of  Mr.  Charles  L.  Freer. 

Godoshi  “Shaka”  134 

Mr.  Charles  L.  Freer. 

The  Monju  of  Tofukuji  136 

By  Godoshi  ( Wu  Tao-Tiu) . 

Rakan  Holding  Wand  142 

By  the  priest  Zengetsu  Daishi  (Kuan  Chiu).  At  Kodaiji. 

Portrait  of  a Priest  144 

By  Kobo  Daishi. 

Laughing  Angel  with  Biwa  (Detail)  146 

By  Kobo  Daishi. 

Early  Chinese  Buddhist  Painting  148 

Collection  of  Mr.  Charles  L.  Freer. 

Wooden  Image  of  Fudo  150 

By  Kobo  Daishi. 

Waterfall  156 

Kanawoka. 

Painting  in  the  Godoshi  Style  of  Kanawoka,  of  One  of  the  Shi  Ten  O, 

formerly  at  Todaiji,  Nara  158 

Now  in  the  Fenollosa - Weld  Collection,  Boston. 

One  of  the  Hell  Series,  “Emma’s  Judgment”  160 

By  Hirotaka.  Copied  by  Hi.rotaka,  Sumiyoshi. 

A Buddhist  Trinity  : Amida  with  attendant  Bodhisattwa,  Kwannon, 

and  Seishi  162 

By  Yeishin  Sozu, 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xxxvil 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

Sunrise  Amida  *^4 

By  Yeishin  Sozu. 

Temple  of  Biodoin  1 ^ 

Battle  of  the  Bulls  j74 

By  Toba  Sojo. 

Portrait  of  Yoritomo  *7^ 

By  Takanobu. 

The  Castle  of  Kumamoto  180 

Detail  of  the  Hell  Panorama  182 

By  Nobuzanl. 

Detail  from  Kitano  Tenjin  Engi  ( two  prints)  i84 

By  Nobuzanl, 

Detail  of  Scene  at  Temple  Steps  l8(^ 

Nobuzane, 

The  Cock  Fight  188 

By  Mitsunaga. 

“A  Surgical  Operation”  r9° 

From  one  of  the  rolls  of  the  “ Nenchiu  GiogiF  By  Mitsunaga 
Fenollosa - Weld  Collection,  Boston. 

Buddha  Descending  through  Clouds  i9° 

From  the  Taima  Mandara,  Keion. 

“This  fine  Procession  tapers  off  like  a Cadence  in  Music”  192 

From  the  Keion  Roll.  Fenollosa- Weld  Collection , Boston. 

“Flight  Turning  a Corner”  j94 

From  Keion  s Panorama  Roll  of  the  Hogen  Heiji  War. 

Fenollosa-  Weld  Collection,  Boston. 

Portrait  Statue  of  Asangba  t98 

At  Kofukuji,  Nara. 

Portrait  Statue  of  a Priest  j98 

Nio  J98 

By  Wunkei. 

Portrait  Statue  of  Wunkei  198 

Portrait  Statue  of  Hojo — the  Fifth  of  the  Kamakura  Guardians  19& 


The  Kasuga  Lantern-bearer 

By  Kobun.  Kasuga  Temple,  Nara. 


202- 


Chapter  1. 


PRIMITIVE  CHINESE  ART. 

Pacific  Influence. — 3000  b.c.  to  250  b.c. 

NO  national  or  racial  art  is  quite  an  isolated  phenomenon.  It  is 
like  a great  river,  the  distant  rills  from  which  it  derives  its 
waters  being  hidden.  The  origins  of  all  civilizations  are 
swallowed  up  in  mystery.  We  do  not  know  the  early  migrations  of 
human  beings  upon  this  globe,  nor  can  we  even  conjecture  what  causes, 
operating  in  remote  millenia,  have  divided  them  into  such  markedly 
contrasted  races.  We  can  only  penetrate  a short  distance  backward 
from  the  fringe  of  the  known  into  the  thick  darkness  of  the  unknown. 

One  added  difficulty  in  such  research  is  our  proneness  to  adopt  and 
follow  easy  lines  of  classification.  As  if  universals  were  anything  more 
than  convenient  names  for  prevalent  tendencies ! Forces  of  upheaval 
and  change  always  precede  the  calm  that  lends  itself  to  generalization  ; 
and  it  is  these  transition  periods  which  give  the  lie  to  popularly  accepted 
history. 

In  the  true  scientific  study  of  ancient  Art  this  same  obstacle  of 
accepted  categories  lies  across  our  path.  The  very  specialization  of 
archaeological  study  leads  us  to  consider  types  as  things  hard  and  fixed. 
Where  Greek  art  merges  off  into  something  else,  we  do  not  like  to 
follow  it.  We  boast  of  “pure  Greek  art”  as  if  it  were  the  outcome 
of  a law  prescribed  by  heaven.  We  do  not  like  to  admit  that  the 
generation  which  precedes — say  Phidias  or  Michael  Angelo — stores  and 
handles  the  supreme  force  which  the  new-comers,  perhaps,  waste.  It  is 
a paradox,  but  true,  that  the  culmination  comes  just  before  the  cul- 
mination ; just  as  it  is  true  that  the  alien  influence  lies  at  the  very  core 
of  the  national. 

A very  real  addition  to  our  resources  in  these  difficult  lines  lies  in 
the  “document”  of  Art  itself.  Epigraphy  records  facts  about  Art,  but 
only  Art  records  Art.  Thus,  a careful  following  of  the  movements  of 
vol.  1.  c* 


2 EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

art  forms,  through  even  the  most  unpromising  channels,  often  opens 
up  paths  about  which  history  is  silent.  Man  is  a very  pungent,  pene- 
trating essence,  which,  in  the  course  of  a hundred  thousand  years  or  so, 
has  diffused  itself  into  every  geographical  cranny,  and,  despite  lack  of 
resources,  has  opened  primitive  lines  of  commerce  throughout  the  globe, 
British  tin  is  used  for  the  making  of  bronze  by  prehistoric  races  on 
the  Black  Sea.  Sea-shells  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  are  ground  into 
the  pottery  of  Minnesota  savages. 

All  this  is  borne  strongly  upon  the  mind  which  takes  up  the  subject 
of  a real  history  of  East  Asiatic  art — not  a curio-collector’s  compendium, 
mind  you,  but  a tracing  of  unique  lines  of  cause.  “China  is  China,” 
that  is  enough  for  the  professed  sinologue.  To  find  evidence  regarding 
it  outside  of  its  own  forbidding  records,  is  what  they  cannot  conceive. 
How  China  became  China  is  what  they  never  ask.  “ East  is  East  and 
West  is  West,  and  never  the  two  shall  meet,”  so  runs  Kipling’s  specious 
dictum  ; and  American  orators  use  it  to-day  to  affect  our  treaty  legisla- 
tion. But  the  truth  is  that  they  have  met,  and  they  are  meeting  again 
now ; and  history  is  a thousand  times  richer  for  the  contact.  They  have 
contributed  a great  deal  to  each  other,  and  must  contribute  still  more  ; 
they  interchange  views  from  the  basis  of  a common  humanity ; and 
humanity  is  thus  enabled  to  perceive  what  is  stupid  in  its  insularity. 
I say  firmly,  that  in  Art,  as  in  civilization  generally,  the  best  in  both 
East  and  West  is  that  which  is  common  to  the  two,  and  eloquent 
of  universal  social  construction.  Translate  China  into  terms  of  man’s 
experience,  and  it  becomes  only  an  extension  of  the  Iliad. 

There  is  an  Odyssey , too,  in  Chinese  art  and  life,  an  unwritten 
Odyssey  of  the  Pacific,  where,  for  five  thousand  years  or  more,  upon 
those  vast  silent  waters  the  carved  canoes  of  maritime  races  have  cut 
lines  of  commerce  from  island  to  island,  and  from  continent  to  continent. 
The  bulging  broken  contours  of  East  Asia  could  not  avoid  the  currents 
of  waters  and  of  men,  whose  relics  are  strewn,  like  wreckage,  half 
around  the  globe,  from  the  Fuegian  coast  of  South  America  to  the 
Aleutian  Archipelago,  and  from  Khamskatcha  southward  to  Tasmania. 

It  must  always  be  considered,  of  course,  in  how  far  primitive  men 
evolved  similar  forms  through  the  very  poverty  of  their  resources.  This 
must  be  specially  true  of  methods  : — materials  to  carve  on,  and  metals, 
stone  or  shell  to  carve  with  ; but  not  so  clearly  true  of  art  forms. 
That  all  men  should  conventionalize  in  adapting  pattern  to  domestic 


PRIMITIVE  CHINESE  ART 


3 


industries  is  intelligible;  but  not  that  they  should  reach  identical  patterns, 
and  with  the  same  aesthetic  key  to  the  spacing.  Art,  after  all,  in  its 
largest  sense,  lies  in  a peculiar,  harmonious  use  of  spacing,  in  which 
value  consists  not  in  laws  or  classifications,  but  in  uniqueness  of  effect. 
We  may  allow  much  to  concomitant  evolution ; but  not  everything, 
especially  when  lines  of  traffic  are  more  or  less  obvious. 

Taking  a Mercator  projection  map  of  the  world,  with  its  centre  in 
the  Eastern  part  of  the  Eastern  hemisphere,  bounded  on  the  west  by 
Europe  and  Africa  and  (as  Asiatic  appendages)  extended  on  the  east 
over  Australasia  and  the  Pacific  Isles  until  the  very  western  shores  of 
America  are  included,  we  can  get  a bird’s-eye  view  over  about  all 
the  geographical  formations  of  human  art.  Only  the  Atlantic  and 
the  eastern  half  of  America  is  alien  to  the  grouping,  a sort  of  barren 
region  that  would  separate  the  outer  edge  of  our  map  if  it  were  wrapped 
about  a cylinder.  Looking  down  now  into  the  fertile  regions  of  man’s 
work,  where  continental  pathways  and  Mediterranean  proximity  of  shores 
have  invited  access,  we  are  enabled  to  make  a large  but  sufficiently 
accurate  identification  of  the  most  active  centres  of  art-dispersion  within 
this  large  field,  which  indeed  we  are  ordinarily  accustomed  to  conceive 
as  one.  Making  a very  broad  generalization,  it  may  be  said  that  these 
centres  have  been  two  : — one  belonging  to  the  somewhat  contracted 
regions  about  the  east  end  of  the  Mediterranean,  where  the  continents  of 

Europe,  Asia  and  Africa  come  to  a common  corner,  as  it  were,  and 

where  boundary  stakes  are  necessary.  The  other  belongs  to  some  point 
of  the  many  less  defined  Mediterraneans  enclosed  by  the  large  islands  of 
the  western  half  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Whether  it  lie  in  the  long  strip 
of  sea  which  separates  the  semi-continent  of  Australia  from  New  Zealand, 
New  Guinea  and  Borneo,  or  in  the  warm  expanse  that  stretches  between 
Borneo,  the  Philippines,  Cochin  China  and  Formosa,  or  in  the  colder 

currents  that  skirt  North  China,  Corea,  and  Japan,  or  yet  in  the  frozen 

seas  off  the  Amoor’s  mouth,  and  bounded  by  Behring’s  Strait  and  the 
Aleutians,  we  cannot  surely  determine,  but  that  in  one  of  these  it  must 
have  originated  seems  by  far  the  most  rational  hypothesis.  Wherever 
its  origin,  it  had  northern  drives,  and  southern  drives,  and  eastern 
drives  from  island  to  island  across  the  ocean,  until  it  reached  American 
shores.  The  hypothesis  here  adopted,  but  for  which  there  is  no  oppor- 
tunity for  me  to  present  all  the  evidence,  is  of  the  existence  of  a 
substantial  unity  of  art  forms,  caused  by  actual  dispersion  and  contact 


4 EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

throughout  the  vast  basin  of  the  Pacific,  and  includes  the  arts  of  Peru, 
Central  America,  Mexico  and  Alaska,  as  well  as  those  of  Hawaii, 
Micronesia,  Macronesia,  and  the  early  inhabitants  of  Formosa,  China, 
and  Japan.  I thus  believe  that  there  exists  what  we  may  fairly  call 
a “ Pacific  School  of  Art,”  and  that  it  is  quite  sharply  differentiated 
from  the  schools  of  all  other  parts  of  the  world,  never  penetrating  far 
to  the  west  of  a longitudinal  line  drawn  from  Central  China  to  Borneo. 
So  much  for  the  Eastern  centre  of  dispersion. 

To  go  back  now  to  the  Western  centre,  we  seem  justified  in 
speaking  of  it  also,  in  a sense,  as  one,  since  the  mutual  influences  of 
its  adjacent  parts  have  so  clearly  acted  and  interacted  as  to  make  a 
sharper  pointing  unintelligible.  The  three  main  areas  of  this  centre 
are  the  Mesopotamian  plain,  the  Northern  Nile  Valley,  and  the  Greek 
Mediterranean  ; the  influences  between  which,  throughout  long  periods 
of  time,  have  been  mutual  and  multiple.  We  see  their  interaction 
specially  formulated  in  Cyprian  art.  Alexander’s  conquest,  300  years  b.c., 
almost  merged  them  into  a common  sea  of  forms. 

If  it  be  objected  to  this  theory  of  world  distribution  that  it  leaves 
India  out  of  account,  the  answer  is  that  Indian  Art,  in  all  of  its  high 
reaches,  at  least,  is  dependent  upon  Mesopotamian  : first  Babylonian, 

then  Persian,  then  Greek,  Greco-Baktrian,  and  Greek  again.  Whatever 
native  motives  may  have  filtered  into  India’s  prehistoric  industries  are 
only  like  tiny  rills  flowing  to  feed  the  main  Western  current. 

Such  feeding  rills  are  to  be  traced,  too,  over  the  outskirts  of 
established  European  and  African  arts.  Greek  art  did  not  stand  alone, 
but  leaned  upon  early  barbarous  motives  that  flowed  down  from  the 
Tartaric  centre  of  its  continent,  possibly  from  Scandinavia  also,  the  lake- 
dwellers,  and  even  the  remote  cave -carvers  on  bones  of  the  hairy 
mastodon.  So  Egyptian  Art  must  have  received  ancient  infusions  of 
motive  from  the  same  far  African  sources  that  yield  us  to-day  the 
spirited  drawings  of  the  Bushmen  and  Berin  bronzes.  The  Eastern 
Mediterranean  was  thus  a primitive  centre  of  confluence  long  before  its 
creative  efforts  had  made  it  also  a centre  of  dispersion.  All  later 
European  art  grows  up,  by  cuttings  as  it  were,  from  this  concentred 
stem  ; and  so  also  the  beginnings  of  creation  in  modern  America  draw 
from  the  same  life. 

The  special  value  to  us  of  this  theory  of  two  centres  lies  in  the 
striking  fact  that  Chinese  art  is  the  only  large  form  of  world  art 


PRIMITIVE  CHINESE  ART 


5 


that  has  combined  in  itself  creative  impulses  from  both.  The  key  to 
early  Chinese  art  is  as  follows  : — its  earliest  motives  were  influenced 
by  Pacific  art,  and  these  were  later  overlaid  by  forms  of  the 
Greco-Persian.  Of  course  this  is  quite  consistent  with  the  fact  that 
Chinese  art,  like  all  great  schools,  still  later  must  have  experienced 

ferments  and  achieved  powerful  reaches  of  advance  from  causes 
operating  within. 

I have  prepared  for  use  throughout  this  book  a chart,  graphic  and 
chronological,  of  Chinese  Art  as  a whole  for  five  thousand  years, 
showing  its  ups  and  downs,  its  periods  of  creative  vitality,  its  central 
supreme  culmination,  and  its  slow  final  fall.  This  is  probably  one  of 
the  first  comprehensive  views  that  has  ever  been  given  of  Chinese 

culture  as  a growing  and  a vulnerable  essence, — as  contrasted  with  our 
ordinary  false  conception  of  its  dead-level  uniformity.  We  shall  see  in 
these  pages  how  Chinese  art  came  to  make  and  unmake  itself. 

Looking  carefully  at  the  chart  it  will  be  seen  that  the  art  takes 

its  obscure  rise  somewhere  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  third  millennium 
before  Christ,  rises  to  its  first  faint  wave  of  force  with  the  Shang 
Dynasty  about  1800  b.c.  ; to  its  second  with  the  Chow  Dynasty 
about  1100  b.c.  ; to  its  third  and  stronger  creative  effort  with  the 

Han  Dynasty  in  the  second  century  before  Christ  ; then,  after  an 

interval  ascends  slowly  and  firmly  to  its  highest  apex  under  the  Tang 
Dynasty  in  the  eighth  century,  and  again  to  a second  hardly  lesser 

culmination  under  the  Sung  Dynasty  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth 

centuries  ; at  last  to  fall  from  that  point  slowly  and  doggedly,  and 
almost  without  break,  to  its  present  low  level  of  weakness  and 
degeneration.  Such  is  the  amazing  outline — like  a great  ground-swell 
of  human  power,  almost  as  slow-moving  and  irresistible  as  the  storm- 
waves  in  the  earth’s  crust  that  have  lifted  and  depressed  continents. 
It  will  be  noted  how  late  in  time  the  culminations  appear,  contem- 
porary, in  fact,  with  the  efforts  of  Charlemagne  to  re-collect  the  shattered 
forces  of  Rome. 

The  smaller  line  traced  above  the  main  one  is  the  similar  graphic 
curve  of  Japanese  art  reckoned  upon  the  same  time-scale,  but  on  a 
smaller  scale  of  elevation.  This  Japanese  art,  while  it  also  appears 
late  in  time,  is  evidently  not  centred  into  a single  overmastering 
wave,  like  the  Chinese,  but  appears  dispersed  into  five  successive  and 
distinct  ones,  of  almost  equal  creative  vitality.  The  relations  between 


6 EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

these  and  the  corresponding  periods  of  Chinese  work  form  the  very 
ground-plan  of  this  present  effort  to  write  their  common  history.  The 
chart  should  be  referred  to  at  every  phase  of  the  unfolding  story. 

Turning  now  to  a special  map  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  with  its 
island  chains  like  stepping  stones  in  half  a hundred  directions,  let  us 
trace  briefly  a few  of  the  salient  features  of  Pacific  design,  and  show 
how  closely  they  seem  to  be  imitated  by  the  earliest  Chinese  art. 

The  history  of  Pacific  life  and  art  in  remote  times  is  not  directly 
known  to  us,  on  account  of  the  perishable  nature  of  the  materials 
used  ; but  it  is  a fair  presupposition  that  the  primitive  forms  used 
to-day  by  these  simple  Polynesian  races  do  not  greatly  differ  from 
their  lost  predecessors.  Most  of  these  Pacific  arts  are  fixed  and 
traditional.  But  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  find  that  the  very 
oldest  forms  of  Chinese  design,  preserved  to  us  in  bronze,  are  in  the 
majority  of  cases  nearly  identical  with  the  bulk  of  the  island 
decorations.  Now  here  we  have  a fairly  definite  date  to  which  we 
can  carry  back  the  use  of  Pacific  forms  upon  this  globe,  namely  the 
beginnings  of  Chinese  history,  somewhere  between  3000  and  2000  b.c., 
probably  nearer  the  former  ; and  while  one  cannot  say  that  the  Chinese 
species  give  us  the  oldest  and  most  original  forms  of  this  genus,  we 
can  safely  conclude  that  we  have  a clear  term  of  five  thousand  years 
at  least  in  which  to  account  for  the  slow  dispersion  of  such  forms 
from  one  or  more  centres  throughout  the  Pacific  half  of  the  globe. 
Between  New  Zealand  and  Hawaii  curves  a long  stretch  of  sea  ; yet 
at  a remote  time  its  dangers  were  mastered  by  some  dusky  Ulysses  in 
Greek-shaped  helmet  of  cocoanut,  who  has  left  the  kinship  of  his 
language  to  add  to  the  proof  of  racial  descent.  Of  course,  I am  far  from 
claiming  that  blood  descent  has  always  or  generally  accompanied  the 
enormously  wide  transmission  of  art  forms.  I am  not  required  to 
prove  that  the  peoples  of  Peru,  Alaska,  China,  and  New  Guinea  were 
genetically  related.  It  is  enough  for  my  purpose  to  assert  that,  at  least, 
they  communicated,  and  left  behind  the  evidence  of  borrowed  arts. 

So  again  we  can  trace  but  clumsily  a few  of  the  probable  lines 
of  this  communication.  Whether  the  South  American  forms,  for 
instance,  passed  over  our  continued  island  stepping  stones  from  west 
to  east  across  the  South  Pacific,  or  whether  they  worked  down  the 
coast  from  North  America,  we  shall  not  here  attempt  to  determine. 
Yet,  surely  between  our  North  Western  Indians,  say  of  Vancouver  and 


Ancient  Chinese  Bronze  showing  Slanting  Eyes 


PRIMITIVE  CHINESE  ART 


7 


Alaska  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Amoor  or  Ainu  races  on  the  other, 
there  must  have  been  much  community  of  blood.  That  the  Eastern 
branches  of  the  Malay  race  derived  designs  from  the  Polynesian,  does 
not  of  course  prove  miscegenation  ; but  it  is  clear  that  there  is  some 
degree  of  consanguinity  between  the  Philippines  and  the  Japanese.  How 
much  weight  should  be  given  to  tales  of  Chinese  migration — voluntary 
or  involuntary — to  American  shores,  is  still  obscure ; but  it  is  practically 
certain  that  the  movement  of  all  these  forms  was,  in  general,  eastward ; 
little  or  no  return  influence  from  America  being  traceable  in  Western 
Pacific  forms. 

It  would  be  interesting  also  to  conjecture  how  and  where  the 
Chinese  first  entered  into  the  charmed  circle  ; whether,  indeed,  in 
their  sheltered  abutments  upon  the  Yellow  Sea  they  may  not  even 
have  originated  the  movements,  which  then  spread  southward  as  well 
as  eastward.  For  other  reasons  it  may  seem  more  probable  that  the 
ancient  centre  lay  in  the  south,  possibly  in  lands  now  submerged,  and 
that  the  general  trends  of  dispersion  lay  north  and  north-east,  move- 
ments in  which  the  more  materially  advanced  Chinese  races  eventually 
shared.  But  all  such  difficult  problems  must  be  left  to  the  anthro- 
pologist ; and  his  decision  may  depend  upon  the  study  of  winds  and 
ocean  currents.  And,  since  I am  not  writing  a history  of  Pacific  art, 
it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  force  any  conclusions. 

Leaving  behind  us  all  such  fascinating,  if  fruitless  speculations,  let 
us  identify  some  of  the  common  features  of  Pacific  art.  Prominent 

everywhere  we  find  the  suggestion  of  faces  more  or  less  human,  with 
two  staring  eyes  and  eye-balls  in  the  centre.  Upon  the  lintels  and 
rafter  ends  of  New  Zealand  huts,  and  upon  the  totem  poles  at  their 
entrance,  for  all  the  world  like  those  in  the  far-away  regions  of  Alaska, 
we  find  these  faces  carved  ; and  it  is  a striking  feature  that  almost 
universally  we  find  these  staring  eyes  slanted  at  a decided  angle,  similar 
to  but  much  more  pronounced  than  the  natural  eye-slant  of  Mongolian 
races.  Where  upon  handles  of  utensils,  or  in  full  relief  statues,  these 
faces  form  logical  parts  of  heads,  we  can  see  that  many  of  the  pattern 
marks  represent  tattooing.  Passing  farther  north  we  find  that  this 
general  Macronesian  feature  is  dominant  in  the  art  of  New  Guinea, 
which  in  some  respects  shows  more  advanced  and  more  Chinese 

aesthetic  forms.  The  bands  of  design  that  play  about  the  features 

interlock  closely  in  finely  spaced  planes  of  relief,  something  like  the 


8 EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

knotting  of  early  Celtic  art.  The  specimens  of  similar  tattooed  heads 
that  have  come  from  the  Philippines,  show  eyes  of  less  angle,  perhaps, 
but  with  a more  consciously  demoniac  expression,  as  if  the  spirit 
represented  lent  evil  force  to  the  use  of  the  dagger  whose  handle  it 
decorates.  This  eye  form,  too,  appears  modelled  upon  the  sides  of 
Aztec  pottery,  and  sometimes  with  lines  of  bosses  that  suggest  deriv- 
ation from  tattooing.  This  pair  of  eyes  is  the  most  conspicuous  feature 
of  Alaskan  art,  worked  as  patterns  on  blankets,  and  carved  or  painted 
on  the  prows  of  boats,  as  we  still  can  see  in  China  of  to-day. 
Everywhere,  probably,  these  eyes  denote  “spirit,”  or  an  animistic 
symbol  of  vital  use  in  summoning  specific  supernatural  aid.  Demonic 
force  plays  below  the  surface  of  almost  every  domestic  function. 

Now  it  is  a most  striking  fact  that  a practically  identical  use  of  the 
face  forms,  the  slanting  almond  eyes  in  pairs,  the  relics  of  marks  of 
tattooing,  and  the  bosses,  appear  as  the  most  salient  features  upon  the 
majority  of  ancient  Chinese  bronzes.  It  seems  never  to  occur  to  the 
professed  Sinologue  that  the  presence  of  these  various  forms  may  be 
related  to  similar  appearances  in  the  art  of  the  island  peoples.  He  has 
found  in  old  Chinese  tradition  that  this  face,  seen  so  often  on  Chinese 
bronze,  is  only  the  “ T’ao  tieh  ogre,”  who  is  a glutton  with  a canni- 
balistic appetite.  Given  a name,  the  phenomenon  is  familiarized  to  him, 
and  filed  away  in  a mental  pigeon-hole.  But  this  very  tradition,  prob- 
ably one  out  of  many  from  forgotten  remote  ages  of  Pacific  relationship, 
only  confirms  the  theory  of  connection.  These  very  bronzes  were  used 
probably  for  the  cooking  and  serving  of  food  and  drink  in  the  most 
ancient  forms  of  ceremonies  for  the  dead — the  origins  of  “ Ancestor 
Worship  ” ; and  what  is  more  natural  than  that  the  face,  or  pair  of 
eyes — the  symbol  of  the  active  domestic  spirit — should  appear  full  of 
desire  to  eat  and  drink  ? Here,  we  may  well  conjecture,  is  the  very 
spirit  and  source  of  altar-food  conception. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  very  scanty  records  we  cannot  find  any 
evidence  among  the  earliest  Chinese  of  Pacific  connections.  Indeed,  no 
one  knows  where  the  race  came  from.  A Western  origin,  from  the 
direction  of  the  Caspian,  has  been  vaguely  and  vainly  conjectured.  All 
we  know  is  that  the  earliest  Chinese  lived  in  the  North,  and  near  the 
sea — about  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Hoangho — occupying  a very 
limited  area.  It  is  impossible  here  to  enter  upon  any  adequate  account 
of  Chinese  history.  There  are  Chinese  myths  of  heroic  ancestors  and 


PRIMITIVE  CHINESE  ART 


9 


leaders  who  taught  the  elements  of  industry  and  of  agriculture.  When 
we  catch  our  first  glimpse  of  the  Chinese  under  their  patriarchal 
Emperors  (from  b.c.  2852  to  2204)  they  were  settled  along  the 
Hoangho,  with  a capital  probably  near  Kaifonfu,  somewhat  inward  from 
the  sea,  and  were  working  out  the  details  of  material  civilization. 
One  of  these  early  founders,  Huwangti,  is  clearly  recorded  to  be  a 
foreigner — leader  of  a cognate  tribe,  perhaps  irrupting  from  some 
remote  region,  and  bringing  with  him  higher  arts  and  a more  com- 

plete organization.  This,  too,  is  the  time  of  the  invention  of  written 
characters,  which  superseded  the  making  of  records  with  knotted  cords. 
It  is  quite  possible  that  the  most  primitive  of  the  bronzes  go  back 

to  this  day. 

The  early  Chinese  believed  in  spirits — spirits  of  the  dead,  of 
nature,  and,  above  nature,  of  heaven.  There  was  a ruler  in  heaven, 
like  a tribal  leader  on  earth.  The  people  acted  primitive  dances, 
and  made  offerings  to  these  beings,  some  of  whose  faces  we  probably 
see  upon  primitive  utensils.  The  forms  of  these  earliest  bronzes  are 

rude  and  heavy : the  patterns  are  set  upon  them  with  only  partial 

aesthetic  effect,  the  bare  symbolism  remaining  of  primary  importance. 
In  this  the  art  differs  from  advanced  Polynesian  modes  and  the  best 
of  the  Aztec,  where  the  aim  is  more  polished  and  the  effect  charm- 
ing, like  the  next  stage  of  Chinese  work. 

The  former  accounts  of  the  first  Emperor  of  the  so-called  Hai 
Dynasty  follow — b.c.  2205  to  1707 — the  great  Yu,  who  first  made 
the  Emperorship  hereditary.  We  do  not  realise  how  democratic 
Chinese  institutions  originally  were  ; like  free  tribal  organization  every- 
where, and  the  self-governing  village  commune.  Yu,  with  his  pre- 
decessors Yan  and  Shun,  have  been  taken  by  later  philosophers  as 
idyllic  leaders  in  an  age  of  golden  peace,  and  set  up  as  ideals  to  be 
followed.  This  was  done  especially  by  Confucius,  nearly  two  thousand 
years  later.  At  least  moral  order  was  already  aimed  at — the  self- 
governing  of  the  earnest  individual.  For  the  material  welfare  of  the 
land  they  fought  with  their  primitive  engineering  methods  against  the 
unruly  forces  of  the  Hoangho,  and  they  glorified  agriculture.  There 
is  no  clear  record  of  the  use  of  human  figures  in  the  art  of  this 
period.  Primitive,  unglazed  pottery  was  almost  surely  known.  China 
was  not  yet  China,  only  a peaceful  and  prosperous,  order-loving 
tribe,  quite  unconscious  of  its  great  destiny.  Fishing  and  hunting 
VOL.  I.  D 


io  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

alternated  with  agricultural  pursuits,  and  whatever  maritime  tribes  lay 
near  the  coast,  the  Chinese  must  have  touched.  Our  only  art  records 
are  their  rarely  dug-up  bronze  utensils. 

Another  Pacific  feature  in  the  decoration  of  these  bronzes  is  the 
fish,  or  marine,  monster,  the  ancestor  of  the  Chinese  dragon,  which 
is  identical  with  forms  found  from  South  Pacific  Islands  to  North- 
Eastern  America.  This  sea-creature  has  a head  unlike  a fish,  with 
curved  snout,  opened  nostrils,  sometimes  with  tusks,  and  a curving  tail 
also  unlike  a fish.  Yet  it  is  often  found  in  connection  with  forms  that 
are  clearly  fish-like.  It  occurs  in  New  Zealand  and  Micronesian  art, 
carved  on  the  handles  of  utensils,  gourd  bottles,  and  woven  into  stuffs  ; 
and  it  reappears  in  almost  identical  form  in  Alaskan  patterns.  Its 
shape,  identical  on  the  early  Chinese  bronzes,  is  probably  their  dragon  ; 
only  we  see  here  that  a “ dragon  ” means  no  lizard  monster  of 
Western  tradition,  but  a semi-fish-like  or  possibly  seal  form — evidently 
a spirit  symbol  connected  with  water.  This  figure  is  carved  or 
moulded  on  all  parts  of  the  oldest  Chinese  vase.  In  later  forms 
appear  the  tusks,  which  are  more  like  those  of  the  Aztec  stone 
dragon. 

Another  widespread  Pacific  form,  akin  to  the  pair  of  eyes,  is  the 
mask,  detachable,  and  to  be  worn  by  men  or  priests  in  impersonating 
the  spirits  during  ritual.  Here  we  refer  to  a universal  practice 
recorded  for  us  in  the  Roman  word  persona , or  mask.  But  the  Poly- 
nesian and  Malay  masks  have  the  slanting  eyes,  the  tattooed  faces 
and  the  ogre-like  features  of  the  totem  poles  ; and  in  addition  possess 
strange,  elongated  noses,  which  sometimes  take  on  the  form  of  a 
beak.  In  New  Guinea,  Borneo,  and  the  Philippines  we  find  these 
masks,  sometimes  representing  murderous  spirits,  in  the  Philippines 
especially,  with  enormous  noses.  Now,  although  we  have  no  primitive 
Chinese  masks  preserved,  we  do  find  among  the  earliest  Japanese 
masks,  used  in  the  Shinto  sacred  dances,  identical,  though  more 
beautifully-carved  forms,  with  the  long  nose,  the  bird-like  beak,  and 
the  slanting  eyes.  In  Alaskan  Ritual  art  these  figures  become 
accentuated  in  the  enormously  projecting  beak  of  the  bird  mask. 
Among  Aztec  and  Hawaian  masks  we  find  sockets,  in  which  movable 
pieces,  such  as  the  jaw  or  the  eyelid,  were  set,  just  as  in  some  of 
the  Japanese  Shinto  dragon-spirit  masks.  This  dragon-world  under- 
neath the  sea  is  part  of  Primitive  Chinese  myth. 


Long-nosed  Wooden  Mask 
from  the  Philippines. 


Ancient  Shinto  Mask  with 
long  Nose. 


Clay  Chafing  Dishes  from  Shell  Mounds. 


I 


PRIMITIVE  CHINESE  ART 


1 1 

Still  another  more  special  form  of  parallelism  in  ornament  is  the 
frigate-bird  pattern,  so  conspicuous  in  the  finest  aesthetic  carving  of 
New  Guinea.  There,  through  centuries,  it  has  become  conven- 
tionalised into  lovely  spiral  bands,  which  we  find  identically  repro- 
duced on  some  of  the  ancient  Chinese  bronzes. 

It  is  here  worth  while  to  speak  of  the  help  we  derive  from  the 
work  of  Chinese  archaeologists.  Cultivated  mandarins  of  the  Han, 
Tang,  and  Sung  dynasties  have  been  great  collectors  of  antiques, 
and  have  written  and  published  illustrated  accounts  of  the  pieces 
which  they  had  before  them.  Doubtless  they  had  evidences  of 
relative  age  hardly  accessible  to  us  ; yet  we  can  see  that  their 
critical  judgments  were  largely  based  upon  the  literary  characters 
which  were  even  then  frequently  inscribed,  or  raised  in  relief,  upon 
the  base  of  such  bronze  utensils.  These  collectors  had  access  to 
thousands  of  pieces,  where  we  can  see  but  a few  tens  at  most ; and 
the  printed  reproductions  in  early  editions,  of  which  the  Ming  are 
now  the  oldest  accessible,  cut  from  wooden  blocks,  are  marvels  of 
careful  execution  and  beautiful  printing.  I shall  hereafter  use  several 
of  the  reproductions  from  the  Hakkodzu  (30  volumes),  written  by 
Oho,  of  the  Sung  Dynasty,  and  Kdkodzti  (10  volumes),  edited  by 
Rotaibo,  of  Sung.  Yet  it  does  not  follow  that  we  must  accept  all 
the  dicta  of  these  books  without  further  criticism,  as  some  of  the 
Sinologues  are  inclined  to  do.  On  the  whole,  however,  we  shall  find 
a great  deal  of  consistency  in  their  massing  of  patterns  according  to 
dates.  Only  a few  plates  in  the  Hakkodzu  and  other  books  are 
ascribed  to  so  ancient  a time  as  the  periods  of  Hia  and  the  pre- 
ceding first  Emperors. 

The  second  such  sub-period  of  the  first  great  Pacific  period  in 
Chinese  art  comes  in  with  the  Shang  Dynasty  (b.c.  1766 — 1122). 

Little  historic  record  is  left  of  this  period,  but  if  we  judge  from  the 
study  of  original  bronzes  of  the  type  ascribed  in  the  Chinese  book  to 
Shang,  we  can  believe  it  to  be  an  age  of  greater  polish  and  more 
advanced  art.  The  shapes  of  the  bronze  vessels  have  now  become 
specially  plastic  and  beautiful  ; severe  and  strong  in  design,  with 
simple,  firm  outline,  and  of  a dignity  and  variety  which  make  even 
Greek  vases  look  somewhat  thin.  Much  of  that  tradition  of  fine  form, 
which  led  to  repetition  after  repetition  through  all  the  Chinese  and 
Japanese  after  periods — from  which  more  or  less  accurate  copies  we 


i2  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

derive  our  popular  notions  of  Chinese  beauty  in  bronze — comes  down 
through  the  ages  from  this  remote  time. 

Not  only  are  the  forms  among  the  grandest  that  human  art  has 
left  us,  but  the  execution  is  worthy  of  the  design.  The  handling  of 
the  hard  substance  has  become  an  exquisite  art,  the  design  is  in  lower 
relief,  and  the  surface  has  a wonderful  satin  finish,  which  in  existing 
originals  seems  now  inlaid  with  drops  and  bars  of  green,  blue  and 
crimson  jewels,  a slow  chemical  incrustation  from  the  alloyed  metals. 

The  patterns,  often  of  much  intricacy  and  grace,  are  still  clearly 
Pacific,  but  of  a symbolism  now  frankly  cut  away  from  its  roots,  and 
persisting  chiefly  for  its  decorative  opportunities.  The  face  pattern  is 
now  smaller,  used  chiefly  for  handles  and  points  of  accent  ; the  dragon 
forms  have  become  conventionalized  into  richer  and  more  bulky  curves, 
and  the  whole  design  tends  to  an  interlacing  of  flat  bands,  sometimes  with 
straight  lines  as  a basis,  but  always  with  some  strong,  high-tension  curves. 

As  might  be  expected,  this  aesthetically  modified  Pacific  pattern  is 
made  to  play  with  great  nobility  into  the  severe  shapes  of  the  vessels 
it  decorates.  This  is  the  golden  age  of  primitive  Chinese  spacing ; 
the  ornament  not  over-elaborate  or  too  accented,  and  often  leaving 
large  cool  surfaces  of  unbroken  bronze  between  the  bands. 

Another  important  point  to  notice  is  that  some  of  these  bronze 

vases  seem  clearly  to  point  to  clay  types  that  must  have  preceded 
them.  Not  only  are  the  metal  shapes  plastic  to  the  last  degree,  but 
they  exhibit  at  times  trie  very  air-holes  for  draught  in  cooking  which  we 

find  is  characteristic  of  primitive  unglazed  pottery  vessels  in  Japan 

and  China. 

The  consideration  of  this  rude  pottery  is  now  upon  us.  There 
seems  reason  to  believe  that  its  home  in  China  is  rather  towards  the 
south,  which  was  as  yet  unconquered  by  the  tall  black-haired  Chinese 
on  the  north,  but  with  whom,  doubtless,  there  was  early  trade.  The 
aborigines  of  what  is  now  Central  and  Southern  China  belonged 

largely  to  races  far  different : Shan  tribes  related  to  Burmese,  and 
diminutive  Miao-tse  (who  still  live  apart  among  the  hills)  more  allied 
to  the  primitive  Japanese. 

In  the  shell-mounds  of  Japan  2re  found  large  quantities  of  vessels 
of  a bluish  unglazed  clay,  tall  in  form  with  a long  hollow  stem, 
above  which  rises  a bulging  central  receptacle.  Often  a cluster  of 
smaller  covered  vessels  are  built  into  the  piece,  suggesting  the  common 


Frigate  Bird  Designs  from  New  Guinea. 


Wand,  or  Double  Fan,  used  by 
Natives  in  Dancing. 


Canoe  Ornament. 


Carved  Handle  of  Lime  Spatula. 

British  Museum. 


Alaskan  Blanket,  with  Eyes. 


PRIMITIVE  CHINESE  ART 


l3 


cooking  and  eating  of  the  domestic  meal.  Slashes  and  holes  near  the 
bottom  and  top  of  the  hollow  stem  suggest  that  the  latter  must  have 
been  filled  with  some  kind  of  fuel,  for  the  draught  and  smoke-escape  of 
which  these  orifices  gave  vent.  The  vessel  was  thus  an  oven,  a boiler, 
and  a whole  dinner  service  in  one. 

As  I have  already  indicated,  some  of  the  finest  Shang  bronzes 
seem  to  be  built  on  this  model  ; the  splendid  bowl  on  a short  stem, 
owned  by  Mr.  Freer,  appearing  to  be  a veritable  “chafing-dish,”  with 
two  large  handles  precisely  like  those  of  the  present  day.  Here  the 
forms  of  the  smoke-orifices  are  made  to  work  beautifully  into  the 
trend  of  the  ornamental  design. 

Another  feature  of  the  prehistoric  Japanese  pottery,  and  probably  of 
the  Chinese  also,  was  the  distribution  upon  parts  of  the  surface,  some- 
times crawling  up  the  stem,  sometimes  set  upon  the  large  central  globe, 
of  rudely  but  strongly  modelled  clay  effigies  of  animals  and  birds  ; 
often  turtles,  frogs  and  lizards  ; but  sometimes,  also,  horned  cattle, 
dogs,  and  horses.  Whether  the  significance  of  these  forms  was  to 
suggest  the  origin  of  the  flesh  substances  in  the  cooking  ingredients, 
or  whether  it  may  have  had  some  totem  or  other  symbolical  significance, 
it  is  hard  to  say.  But  it  here  appears  that  a Southern  and  Eastern 
school  of  naturalistic  sculpture  in  clay  was  arising  at  some  early  age, 
and  that  it  had  no  relation  at  all  to  Pacific  design.  That  this  animal 
school  led  to  later  bronze  work  that  can  be  identified  as  Han,  we  shall 
see  in  Chapter  III.  Whether  any  Shang  work  of  this  type  in  either 
bronze  or  clay  now  remains  can  only  be  determined  after  much  close 
comparison  has  been  made  of  the  scanty  fragments.  But  the  evident 
relation  of  some  Shang  bronzes  to  the  type  of  clay  vessel  that  bears 
these  animals  suggest  that  such  may  have  existed.  We  think  then  that 
we  detect  in  Shang  the  first  traces  of  a Southern  realistic  art  working 
slowly  up  against  the  Northern  Pacific  patterns. 

It  will  be  interesting,  before  leaving  the  meagre  relics  of  Shang, 
to  compare  the  patterns  with  other  well-known  Pacific  forms.  It  is 
not  now  with  the  ruder  of  these  that  analogy  is  clear,  as  is  the  case 
with  the  earlier  Hia  bronzes.  It  is  rather  with  the  more  polished  and 
assthetically  complex  forms  of  New  Guinea,  New  Zealand  and  Aztec  art 
that  the  parallelism  now  holds.  For  example,  the  triangular  interlacing 
of  the  bands  upon  Mr.  Freer’s  Shang  bronze  is  almost  identical  with 
motives  carved  in  stone  upon  the  facades  of  Mexican  temples. 


i4  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

The  third  sub-species  of  Chinese  primitive  art  is  that  of  the  Chow 
dynasty,  which  followed  the  Shang  (b.c.  1122-1249).  With  the  Chow 
founder,  the  great  Wen  Wang,  we  are  already  upon  pretty  firm 
historic  ground.  This  acute  personage,  whose  name  means  “ King  of 
Literature,”  was  the  first  great  Chinese  author  and  philosopher.  It 
was  he  who  composed  in  prison  the  original  core  of  the  Y-king,  or 
Book  of  Changes,  which  Confucius  much  later  elaborated.  In  this 
work  the  symbolism  of  “ dragon  ” categories  is  so  bound  up  with 
imperial  acts  as  to  be  the  origin  of  all  that  is  still  implied  in  the 
terms  “dragon-throne,”  “dragon-face,”  “dragon  banner.”  In  a sense 
the  dragon  is  the  type  of  a man,  self-controlled,  and  with  powers  that 
verge  upon  the  supernatural.  Wen  Wang’s  life,  too,  is  the  starting- 
point  for  Chinese  poetry,  the  Book  of  Odes,  mostly  Chow  productions, 
which  Confucius  collected,  and  some  of  which  are  supposed  to  eulo- 
gise the  deeds  of  early  Chow  monarchs  and  of  virtuous  members  of 
their  families. 

The  only  art  which,  to  my  present  knowledge,  remains  from  this 
age  is  still  the  bronzes.  Judging  from  the  many  Chinese  drawings 
and  the  few  originals,  the  pattern  of  these  is  still  remotely  Pacific,  but 
much  modified,  and  interspersed  with  realistic  designs.  Moreover,  the 
shapes  of  the  vessels  themselves  are  either  of  bird  or  animal  forms,  or 
else  over-elaborate  and  too  consciously  aesthetic.  The  pattern  is  apt 
to  be  overloaded  and  grotesque  in  its  disposition.  In  short,  the  Chow 
seems  to  be  an  age  of  aesthetic  decay,  as,  soon  after  the  earlier  reigns, 
it  became  the  seat  of  political  decay.  The  strong  empire  of  the  “ King 
of  War,”  son  of  the  “ King  of  Literature,”  was  broken  by  the  seventh 
century  into  a ring  of  semi-independent  feudal  states.  It  was  the 
special  mission  of  Confucius,*  librarian  to  the  Duke  of  one  of  the 
smaller  states,  to  bemoan  the  weak  politics  and  morals  of  his  day,  and 
to  suggest  a strong  reconstructive  system,  based  upon  the  idyllic 
life  of  the  patriarchs  who  had  preceded  Hia,  and  upon  the  virtues 
and  philosophy  of  Wen  Wang  himself.  This  Confucian  philosophy, 
which  advocated  a thorough-going  Socialism  curbing  the  individual  to 
act  for  common  ends,  though  much  discussed  in  later  Chow,  did  not 
become  the  basis  of  administration  in  China  until  the  next  great  age, 
the  Han. 

* Confucius,  called  generally  in  Japan  “ Koshi,”  in  modern  Mandarin  pronunciation 
“ K’ung-tzu,”  born  550  or  551  b.c.,  died  478  b.c. 


Three-legged  Chinese  Old  Chinese  Bronze. 

Bronze. 


Chinese  Bronze  with 
Long-Necked  Bird. 


Primitive  forms  of  the  Fish  or  Marine 
Monster,  the  ancestor  of  the 
Chinese  Dragon. 


PRIMITIVE  CHINESE  ART 


15 


Nearly  contemporary  with  Confucius  appeared  another  great  sage, 
this  time  from  the  just  awakening  and  half  included  South  (the  Yangtse 
valley),  Laotse,  who  advocated  as  thorough-going  an  Individualism  as 
Confucius  did  Socialism.  The  absolute  freedom  of  the  Ego  is  the  first 
principle  of  Laotse*  and  from  this  he  would  develop  a more  internal 
morality  than  can  be  mechanically  deduced  from  utilitarian  ends.  Thus 
we  have  set  here,  clearly  opposed  in  Chinese  life,  the  two  main  types 
of  man  which  have  created  the  dramatic  unity  of  Chinese  history,  by 
the  growing  complications  of  their  warring.  Which  at  first  appealed 
with  the  more  force  to  art  it  is  difficult  to  decide.  Confucius’s  thought 
of  a social  harmony  which  should  literally  reproduce  the  structure  of 
music  is  sublime  and  fertile.  “Keep  your  mind  pure  and  free  through 
Art,”  he  writes.  Also  he  advocated  the  setting  up  of  painted  or  carved 
portraits  of  great  men  to  stimulate  a popular  ambition ; but  whether 
there  ever  were  such  paintings  and  sculptures  in  Chow  we  do  not,  at 
present,  know. 

On  the  other  hand,  Laotse’s  very  South,  the  land  of  freedom  and 
natural  beauty,  was  already  celebrated  for  its  plastic  arts,  and  has  always 
possessed  “ temperament.”  It  is  pretty  clear  that  this  Taoist  individ- 
ualism was  one  of  the  greatest  forces  that  rendered  a later  high  Chinese 
art  possible  at  all.  And  even  at  the  end  of  the  Chow  dynasty,  we 
have  in  parts  of  Kutsugen’s  great  Southern  poem,  “ Riso,”  or  the 
“ Lamentations,”  elaborated  description  of  a splendid,  ancient,  non- 
Chinese  shrine  in  the  far  South,  covered  with  symbolic  paintings  of 
forgotten  gods.  Kutsugen’s  was  the  first  great  outburst  of  poetry, 
and  strongly  Taoist,  after  the  Chinese  Odes,  which  are  Confucian.  It 
is  the  first  great  demonstration,  too,  of  Chinese  literary  imagination  ; 
but  we  can  only  conjecture  what  new  beginnings  of  visual  art  may 
possibly  have  accompanied  it. 

There  is  one  striking  record  in  the  middle  of  Chow  of  a first  tentative 
exploring  by  the  Chinese  of  land  lying  to  the  west  of  their  empire.  About 
600  B.c.  the  adventurous  emperor  Wa  Tei,  with  a large  retinue,  is  said 
to  have  penetrated  as  far  as  the  Kunlung  Mountains  which  divide  Thibet 
from  Kotan,  and  there  to  have  met  a kind  of  magical  central  Asian 
“Queen  of  Sheba,”  the  “Mother-Queen  of  the  West,”  who  entertained 
him  in  magnificent  state.  Whatever  the  measure  of  truth  in  the  story,  the 

* Laotse,  called  in  Japan  “Roshi;”in  Mandarin  pronunciation  “ Lao-tzu,”  flourished 
from  580  to  530  b.c. 


1 6 EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

marvels  of  a new  life  and  work  there  seen,  expanded  into  later  myths  and 
legends — much  as  early  Greek  geographical  accounts  of  outlying  nations 
are  like  truth  seen  through  a romantic  mist — so  powerfully  affected  Chinese 
imagination  that  the  far  western  site  became  identified  in  later  Laoistic 
worship  with  the  Taoist  heaven.  Probably  some  new  elements  in  visual 
design  arose  from  this  contact,  which  it  is  difficult  now  to  identify. 

The  end  of  Pacific  art  and  of  the  weakened  Chow  dynasty  came  together 
with  the  advent  of  the  Shin  tyrant — who  overthrew  the  alliance  of  the 
feudal  states,  and  subjugated  them  into  the  first  colossal  Empire  that 
included  what  is  now  the  whole  north  and  centre  of  China  proper.  He 
brought  the  past  consciously  to  an  end,  because  he  wished  to  rebuild  with 
clean  stones  ; thus  causing  the  burning  of  all  past  books,  especially  those 
which  dealt  with  the  endless  disputations  of  the  Confucian  and  Taoist 
philosophers.  If  there  were  any  philosophy  at  all  in  this  brief  meteoric 
career,  it  was  a sort  of  Nietscheism  backing  raw  freedom  and  force  against 
formalism.  Another  of  his  colossal  works,  less  futile,  was  the  building  of 
the  great  wall  for  1,000  miles  across  the  north,  to  shut  out  the  predatory 
hordes  of  barbaric  Huns,  ancestors  of  Attila’s  scourges,  which  already  had 
begun  to  threaten  China  with  Tartar  invasion. 

Probably  no  new  forms  of  Art  could  have  been  introduced  during  the 
short  reigns  of  this  strenuous  man  or  his  son,  as  he  left  his  subjects 
little  time  for  the  luxury  of  aestheticism.  His  is  an  age  of  transition,  a 
needed  stepping-stone  from  feudality  to  Empire,  but  leaving  all  real  social 
reconstruction  therein  to  the  genius  of  the  Han  Dynasty  which  soon 
succeeded  him.  (202  b.c.)  Here  an  entirely  new  set  of  forces  make 
their  entrance  into  Chinese  life,  and  particularly  into  Chinese  art,  which 
now  takes  on  new  forms,  so  unrelated  to  the  Pacific  that  we  must  devote 
to  them  a special  chapter. 


Chapter  II. 

CHINESE  ART  OF  THE  HAN  DYNASTY. 

Mesopotamian  Influence — 202  b.c.  to  221  a.d. 

THE  rapidly  expanding  influence  of  China  upon  surrounding  peoples 
must  have  reached  our  Western  world  of  the  Mediterranean 
precisely  at  this  dramatic  moment  ; for  though  the  violent  Tsin 
dynasty  lasted  only  forty  years,  it  contributed  its  name  Sin,  or  Chin  ; 
and  Sines,  Sinico,  and  so  the  final  form  “ China,”  to  the  earliest  accounts 
of  it  written  by  the  Greek  geographers  of  the  Ptolemaic  school.  A little 
later,  the  second  century  b.c.,  China  became  known  to  the  Greco- Roman 
world  under  an  entirely  different  epithet,  the  Ser,  or  Seres,  a people  far  to 
the  north-east,  from  whom  was  brought  by  caravan  route  the  precious 
fabric  known  by  the  Greek-formed  adjective  Serika  or  Serik,  whence  our 
word  silk.  The  strange  fact  is  that  the  scholarship  of  Europe  conceived 
these  two  peoples  to  be  entirely  distinct,  an  error  which  was  not  finally 
corrected  until  the  explorations  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  What  is  significant  for  us  in  this  is  that  the  difference  of  names 
corresponds  to  a difference  of  the  routes  by  which  Western  travel  moved — 
the  Sin  fame  and  exports  coming  by  sea  around  through  the  Indian  Ocean  to 
Arabia  at  least  ; the  Ser  products  being  carried  overland  on  the  backs  of 
camels.  This  difference  and  its  long  persistence  in  the  Occidental  imagina- 
tion really  correspond  to  an  important  and  even  a racial  difference  between 
the  North  of  China  and  the  South.  The  North,  the  Seres,  were  the 
descendants  of  the  ancient  black-haired  race  in  its  original  bleak  seats  ; 
the  South,  the  Sines,  were  only  just  becoming  known  to  the  Chinese, 
being  loosely  incorporated  with  their  empire  under  Tsin,  more  firmly 
under  Han.  By  South,  however,  we  mean  also  what  is  now  the  centre, 
the  Yangtse  valley,  and  the  whole  eastern  projection  of  Chinkiang,  the 
famous  province  of  Wu  (Go).  It  was  from  the  ports  of  this  new 
province — in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  present  Amoy  or  Hangchow — that 
the  first  maritime  trade  was  opened  to  the  South  and  West,  though  later 
the  still  more  southern  ports  in  the  Canton  region  came  to  rival  them. 


1 8 EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

But  our  concern  here  is  still  more  strikingly  with  the  fact  that  while 
the  short-lived  Tsin  gave  its  name  to  the  Southern  and  maritime 
Chinese,  the  whole  overland  line  of  trade  between  China  and  the  Greco- 
Roman  Empire — which  lasted  down  to  the  conquest  of  the  Turks — was 
opened  for  the  first  time  by  the  Tsin’s  great  rival  and  successor,  the  Han 
Dynasty.  It  is  peculiarly  the  Han,  in  its  sudden  wonderful  expansion 
Westward,  that  represented  the  Seres  proper,  the  men  who  made  that 
mysterious  substance,  silk. 

The  Han  Dynasty  came  in  with  great  eclat , and  the  refinements  of 
ripe  military  power,  in  a violent  national  reaction  against  the  excesses 
of  Shin.  The  responsibilities  of  extended  Empire  were  now  for  the 
first  time  understood,  for  the  small  areas  and  the  patriarchal 
supremacy  of  tribal  heads  in  earlier  days,  from  Hia  to  Chow,  should 

hardly  be  dignified  with  that  name.  It  was  now  that  the  first  great 

historic  wave  of  Chinese  culture  surged  up  into  a shining  spray  of 
forms.  There  was,  first,  the  intense  and  widespread  literary  criticism, 

which  reconstructed  the  texts  of  the  ancient  books  destroyed  by  the 

Shin  tyrant  ; much  as  the  scholars  of  Florence,  sixteen  centuries  later, 
re-pieced  the  scattered  fragments  of  Classic  culture.  Here  comes  in  the 
first  critical  study  of  the  language  itself,  its  grammar,  its  etymology,  its 
epigraphy,  works  of  which  some  of  the  most  important  still  remain. 

This  recovery  of  the  works  of  the  great  Chow  philosophers, 
Confucius  and  Laotse,  and  of  their  followers  who  had  warred 
for  eight  ineffectual  generations,  led  to  new  conscious  attempts  at 
administrative  organisation,  based  upon  broad  social  principles,  the 
digests  of  which  the  new  Han  rulers  had  ready  to  hand.  Speaking 
briefly  of  this  long,  fertile  period  of  a hundred  years,  we  can  say 
that  at  the  beginning  of  Han  the  Taoist,  or  Individualist,  party 
achieved  a partial  triumph,  which  was  followed  by  the  first  definitive 
formulation  of  Confucianism  as  an  Imperialist  constitution  at  an  era 
considerably  ante-dating  the  birth  of  Christ.  That  society  should  be 
organized  as  a great,  obedient  family,  with  multiform  duties  but  no 
personal  rights — a sort  of  ethik-archy  or  government  by  Socialistic 
morality — was  the  beginning  ot  characteristic  Chinese  form  as  we 
know  it  ; a form,  however,  in  which  the  most  striking  institutions,  such 
as  the  civil  service  examinations,  were  yet  far  from  initiation. 

The  philosophy  was  rather  a convenient  engine  for  the  Han  rulers 
to  wield  in  defence  of  their  dynastic  power  than  a ripe  expression  of 


CHINESE  ART  OF  THE  HAN  DYNASTY  19 

thought  and  life  in  the  Chinese  people  themselves.  Here  then,  too, 
in  Han,  the  first  great  national  histories  were  compiled  and  written, 
trying  to  throw  into  an  intelligible  whole  the  fragments  of  tradition 
that  had  filtered  down  through  many  motley  centuries. 

The  poetry  of  Han,  however,  a noble  mass  of  work,  remained 
largely  Taoist  or  Individualistic,  enforcing  the  prime  fact  which  all 
later  Chinese  critics,  and  their  European  Sinologist  pupils,  have 
ignored,  that  almost  all  the  great  imaginative  art  work  of  the  Chinese 
mind  has  sprung  from  those  elements  in  Chinese  genius,  which,  if  not 
anti,  were  at  least  non-Confucian.  This  poetry  is  almost  always  in  the 
Southern  romantic  style  of  Kutsugen  in  his  Riso,  as  opposed  to  the 
primitive  short-lined  moralising  Chow  balladry  of  Confucius  ’ compilation. 

The  causes  which  soon  led  to  the  expansion  of  Han  influences 
towards  the  West  were  twofold ; first,  military,  the  outcome  of  success- 
ful campaigns  against  the  various  Tartar  tribes  on  the  north  and 
north-west,  and  the  coming  into  more  intimate  treaty  relations  with 
these  hordes  of  Scythians  and  Huns ; and  second,  philosophical  and 
romantic  interest  in  the  Taoist  stories  of  the  West,  stories  which  had 
descended  in  a halo  of  myth  from  the  visit  of  a Chow  Emperor  to 
the  “ Queen-Mother  of  the  West,”  four  centuries  earlier.  It  was 
especially  the  monarch  Wutei  (Butei),  the  sixth  of  Han,  who  ascended 
the  throne  140  b.c.,  to  rule  for  fifty-four  years,  and  whose  long 
reign  may  be  called  the  golden  age  of  this  dynasty,  whose  military 
prowess  and  restless  Taoist  imagination  led  him  to  inaugurate  the 
Turkestan  campaigns.  He  summoned  about  him  the  Individualistic 
genius  of  his  day,  professed  to  believe  in  and  share  the  Taoist 
mystical  powers,  and  determined  to  re-visit  the  Queen  of  his  Taoist 
paradise.  The  first  overtures  were  peaceful,  Wutei  sending  an  envoy 
ostensibly  to  discover  the  line  of  migration  to  the  far  West  of  one  of 
his  dependent  Scythian  tribes,  the  so-called  White  Huns.  The  envoy 
traced  them,  after  years  of  detention  and  difficulty,  to  the  far  highlands 
of  Baktria,  where  he  came  into  contact  with  the  Persians  and  the 
Greeks,  and  whence  he  brought  strange  treasures  of  Western  manufacture, 
the  knowledge  of  grape  culture,  and  a fine  breed  of  Turkestan 
horses.  Other  messengers  from  Wutei,  followed  by  armies — missions 
that  were  renewed  at  times  throughout  the  breadth  of  the  Han 
centuries — not  only  carried  Chinese  civilization  and  arms  past  the 
Kunglung  mountains  to  the  very  Pamir  plateaus,  but  opened  intercourse 


20  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

with  the  Mesopotamian  plain,  penetrating  as  far  as  the  Persian 
Gulf,  from  which  one  Chinese  general  later  prepared  to  embark  on  a 
Red  Sea  voyage  to  Alexandria.  And  thus  it  was  that  a permanent 
caravan  trade  across  vast  deserts  and  the  roof  of  the  world  was  estab- 
lished between  China  and  Rome  a hundred  years  before  the  Christian 
era.  The  enormous  mass  of  silken  stuffs  which  the  wealthy  Romans 
used  for  clothing  all  came  from  the  far-away  looms  of  Han,  in  return 
for  which  the  Chinese  imported  glass  and  enamels,  steel,  pottery, 
elephants  and  horses.  This  was  the  first  great  line  of  world  trade 
over  the  central  regions  of  our  globe. 

That  an  enormous  impression  should  have  been  made  by  this  new 
intercourse  upon  the  industries  and  arts  of  China,  is  natural  enough. 
The  Han  people  might  well  discard  much  of  the  worn-out  Pacific 
motives,  of  whose  origin  they  retained  no  real  knowledge,  and  adopt  the 
more  fertile  ideas  which  were  pouring  in  from  the  West.  The 
strangest  fact,  perhaps,  is  that  the  contact  did  not  reach  to  deeper 
intimacy,  and  a more  perfect  mastery  of  Western  forms.  Here  China 
must  have  touched  the  outer  surface  of  a Greek  art  that  had  followed 
in  the  wake  of  Alexander’s  conquests,  and  of  all  the  treasures  of  a rich 
Babylonian,  Assyrian  and  Persian  past.  Some  European  writers,  indeed, 
have  gone  so  far  as  to  inter,  from  the  vague  indications  of  literary 
research,  that  Han  art  became  very  decidedly  Greek,  at  least  in  its 
early  days.  It  would  seem  more  strange  that  we  do  not  find  clearer 
direct  evidence  of  Greek  tutelage,  were  it  not  for  causes  which  tended 
to  make  this  continental  intercourse  fitful  and  abortive.  Why  should 
not  the  two  great  empires  of  the  world,  China  and  Rome,  have  met, 
affiliated,  and  established  diplomatic  intercourse,  and  we  be  able  to 
read  of  Chinese  long-robed  mandarins  at  the  courts  of  the  Caesars : 
The  enormous  length  of  the  trade-route,  occupying  some  two  years  in 
circuit,  explains  much  ; but  the  deeper  cause  was  the  jealousy  of  the 
Western  intermediate  people,  chiefly  the  Parthians,  who  kept  the  two 
ends  of  the  four  chains  of  trade  in  their  own  hands.  It  was  the 
rivalry  of  such  “ go-betweeners  ” that  prevented  the  embarkation  for 
Alexandria  of  the  Chinese  general,  and,  roughly  speaking,  we  may  say 
that  the  great  and  celebrated  Parthian  wars  of  later  Rome  were  fought 
chiefly  to  effect  and  to  obstruct  direct  intercourse  with  this  most  im- 
portant Eastern  market  of  the  Roman  world.  The  sea-trade  of  the  Sins, 
via  India,  was  obstructed  by  Arabs  ; while  the  land-trade  of  the  Seres, 


CHINESE  ART  OF  THE  HAN  DYNASTY  21 

via  Ferghana,  was  definitely  obstructed  by  Parthian  success.  Thus  the 
full  vitalizing  contact  was  never  made  until  the  weakening  powers  of  both 
Rome  and  Han  destroyed  for  centuries  all  chance  of  it.  And  thus  it 
was  that  into  the  art  of  Han  infiltrated  only  a somewhat  motley  group 
of  Western  influences  for  China  to  transpose  to  her  own  alien  uses. 

It  will  be  worth  while  now  briefly  to  consider  what  were  some  of 
these  Western  art  forms  which,  in  an  imperfect  intercourse,  would  have 
been  the  most  easily  transportable.  In  older  forms  of  Mesopotamian 
art,  Assyrian  and  Babylonian,  and  later  in  Persian,  the  Chinese  must 
have  noticed  the  strong  prominence  of  animal  motives  ; not  only  bands 
of  animals — horses,  deer  and  lions — used  in  ornaments  of  utensils,  and 
often  disposed  in  circular  procession,  but  famous  scenes  of  hunting, 
with  darting  horses  of  the  royal  guard,  chariots,  charging  lions,  wounded 
animals.  Forms  of  winged  animals,  too,  some  with  human  bodies  ; but 
masks  of  birds  or  beasts — winged  bulls  and  lions  as  vast  symbolic 
ornaments,  or  perched  as  capitals  of  columns  ; forms  enriched  with 
finer  Greek  influences,  as  at  Persepolis,  and  even  the  flying  Pegasus 
himself,  must  have  come  to  the  Han  notice.  Strange  branching  and 
intertwisting  forms  of  foliage,  too — the  so-called  “Tree  of  Life”  in  later 
Persian  pattern — the  firm  line  tracery  of  stems,  and  the  feathery 
plumage  of  leaves  ; and  more  than  all  this  the  formal  Mesopotamian 
use  of  continued  flower  and  rosette  patterns  in  stiff,  doubly  symmetrical 
curve  system,  worked  out  in  their  coloured  brick  facades  and  interior 
decoration.  Here,  too,  we  should  have  spoken,  perhaps  first,  of  the 
use  of  glazed  pottery  generally  in  that  greatest  of  all  ceramic  centres, 
Persia,  and  in  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  joint  valley.  Upon  some  of 
these  vases  there  is  a noticeable  lack  of  design,  but  at  times  some 
relief  work.  Among  the  colours  are  an  egg-plant  purple  glaze,  grey- 
cream,  superb  blues,  and  wonderful  dark  greens.  It  is  still  a live 
problem  whence  came  this  finest  of  the  industrial  arts  ; but  since  the 
recent  unearthing  of  ancient  collections  of  pottery  in  Persia  and  along 
the  Euphrates,  we  are  coming  to  believe  this  the  original  seat  from 
which  the  arts  of  enamel  spread,  in  many  directions,  possibly  to  China. 
Looked  at  with  a purely  aesthetic  eye,  Mesopotamian  design  has  a large 
massiveness  of  proportion,  and  a simple  but  peculiar  circular  rhythm  of 
curve  relations,  which  distinguish  it  from  all  other  racial  types.  Its 
Egyptian  analogues  are  more  spiky  and  rectangular  ; its  Greek  more 
flame  and  flower-like. 


22  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

But  of  very  special  influence  upon  the  new  art  of  Han  was 
evidently  the  peculiar  thin  and  wiry  forms  of  art,  half  Persian  and  half 
Greek,  which  obtained  in  the  semi-independent  kingdom  of  Baktria 
nearly  down  to  the  time  of  Christ.  Later  Persian  forms,  seen  in 
engravings  of  figures  upon  cylindrical  seals,  have  become  lank  and 
dry,  as  if  the  juice  of  their  Assyrian  prototypes  had  been  pressed  out  ; 
and  this  attenuation  of  form  becomes  often  combined  with  effeminate 
Greek  rhythmic  curves  in  Baktrian  seals  and  coins.  Figures  are  reduced 
to  mere  filaments  and  splinters,  which  band  strange  angular  intervals 
upon  the  engraved  ground. 

If  now  we  turn  from  this  somewhat  random  enumeration  to  the 
few  scattered  relics  of  Han  art,  we  can  trace  something  like  the  revolution 
in  Chinese  aesthetic  forms  which  we  might  be  led  to  expect.  A first 
great  innovation  is  in  the  glazed  pottery,  which,  so  far  as  1 know, 
did  not  exist  at  earlier  dates.  A considerable  mass  of  this  has  come 
into  modern  American  collections,  most  of  which  is  somewhat  rude 
and  repeatedly  conventional,  showing  a late  Han  degeneration.  But 
studying  the  finest  and  most  characteristic  pieces  we  shall  discover  much 
of  interest.  The  forms  are  largely  low  cylindrical  jars  with  covers, 
and  tall  finely  moulded  vases,  with  small  base,  full  flaring  centre,  and 
long  neck  above  expanding  into  a wider  lip.  Many  of  these  have  no 
ornamentation  whatever  ; some  have  only  a few  faint  circles  of  geo- 
metric marks,  often  like  the  cord-marks  of  primitive  pottery.  The 
finest  bear  a single  modest  band  of  decoration  in  relief  about  their 
equators.  That  some  of  these  have  been  derived  from  bronze  forms 
seems  proved  by  their  bearing,  at  two  opposite  poles  of  their  equatorial 
region,  the  relics  of  handles  that  imply  detachment  ; face  bosses  which 
show  a relic  of  the  old  Pacific  design,  holding  in  their  mouths  a ring 
that  should  hang  free.  Other  forms,  however,  and  generally  the 
undecorated,  show  affinities  with  the  tall,  oven-containing  shapes  of  the 
prehistoric  unglazed  vessels  of  the  South.  But  over  all  these  varied 
pieces  of  modelled  clay,  harder  and  more  brick-like  than  the  chalky 
Mesopotamian  biscuits,  has  been  poured  a nearly  identical  glaze  of  dull 
green,  occasionally  mottled  with  a little  yellow,  and  often  running  into 
heavy  drops  as  in  the  finer  Japanese  pottery.  These  colours  have  been 
largely  deoxidized  by  long  burial  in  the  soil,  fading  into  a semi- 
iridescent  colourlessness  ; but  the  glaze  can  be  traced  upon  the  less 
exposed  portions.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  Han  potters,  though 


HAN  VASE  WITH  RAISED  BAND  OF 
SLENDER  ANIMAL  FORMS. 

Mr.  Freer. 


CLAY  “CHAFING-DISH/'  DESIGN 
FORMS  OF  CATTLE  IN  FULL 
RELIEF. 


HAN  JAR  WITH  COVER  REPRESENTING 
MOUNTAIN  RANGES. 


CHINESE  ART  OF  THE  HAN  DYNASTY 


23 


borrowing  the  idea  of  design  from  the  Assyrians  and  Persians,  could 
not  discover  the  chemical  constituents  of  their  finest  blues.  It  should 
be  noted  here  that,  beside  the  vases  and  jars,  there  occur  forms  of 

miniature  domestic  utensils  and  animal  effigies,  also  worked  out  in 

glazed  pottery,  and  which  show  evident  affiliation  with  the  prehistoric 
animal  culture,  often  upon  the  oven  vases,  of  the  primitive  South. 

Let  us  now  look  more  closely  at  the  motives  upon  the  Han 

vessels  that  show  decoration  in  sculptural  relief.  The  covers  of  the 
jars  are  mostly  heaped  into  curving  ranges  of  mountains,  which  seem 
to  symbolize  the  wonderful  fourfold  pacing  of  that  Pamian  roof  of 

the  world  which  the  adventurous  Chinese  captains  and  merchants  were 
just  learning  to  cross.  The  sides  of  the  jars,  too,  have  an  underlying 
network  of  mountain  forms  in  crude  curves,  like  successive  sea-waves, 
in  very  low  relief.  Occasionally  upon  the  lower  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tain, on  the  cover,  we  find  the  sculptured  forms  of  animals  apparently 
lying  dead  in  the  wilderness — figures  of  horses,  cows,  or  lions.  But 
the  chief  animal  and  human  forms  are  found  in  higher  relief  in  the 
side  bands  of  the  jars,  standing  strong  against  the  mountain  outlines. 
Here  we  find  men  on  horseback,  hunters ; perhaps  wounded  lions, 
trailing  their  hind  legs  as  in  Assyrian  sculpture  ; wild  cattle,  sometimes 
humpbacked  like  those  on  Baktrian  coins  ; forms  of  flying  birds,  and 
inter-connecting  traceries  that  cannot  always  be  identified.  Among  the 
animals,  too,  some  are  winged,  quite  in  the  Mesopotamian  style — a 
strange  circumstance  were  it  not  for  the  contact,  for  in  all  the  old 
Pacific  motive,  even  in  that  which  delineates  dragons,  whose  written 
character-analysis  seems  to  mean  “ flying-flesh,”  we  find  no  early 
attempts  to  portray  wings.  These  animals  and  hunting  scenes,  though 
generally  not  the  mountain  forms,  are  found  in  bands  of  closer  curve 
composition  upon  the  vases  also.  And  upon  both  jars  and  vases  are 
seen  horsemen  turning  in  their  saddles  and  shooting  arrows  backward, 
which  it  is  perhaps  not  a wild  conjecture  to  take  for  Parthians,  or 
Central  Asian  tribes  akin  to  them. 

After  the  clay  vessels  we  should  touch  upon  the  bronzes,  which  seem 
to  divide  themselves  into  three  or  four  types.  The  first  of  these,  and 
still  in  use  for  ancestral  rites,  are  more  or  less  conventional  copies  of 
the  more  ancient  bronzes  of  the  Pacific  school.  But  these  we  need 
not  consider,  being  only  hierarchic  survivals  and  betraying  no  creative 
aim.  One  new  form  of  bronze  resembles  the  glazed  vessels  with 


24  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

raised  patterns  on  jars  and  vases,  quite  like  those  already  described. 
Here  the  Pacific  forms  of  the  handles  stand  out  clear  against  the 
Mesopotamian  motive  on  the  bands.  Still  a third  form  is  the  bronze 
drums,  which  Professor  Hirth  has  so  well  shown  to  have  originated 
in  early  Han.  The  patterns  on  these  are  very  different  from  the 
early  Pacific,  as  from  the  Northern  Han,  and  seem  to  point  to  a 
far  Southern,  and  perhaps  a Malay,  origin.  Such  drums  have  been 
dug  up  mostly  in  the  South,  where  the  records  say  that  a Chinese 
conqueror  originated  them,  carving  native  symbolical  designs  into 
drum  forms  imitated  from  the  Chinese  drums  made  | of  wood  and 


skin.  The  ornamentation  is  incised  in  fine  line  pattern,  quite  unlike 
the  clay  reliefs,  but  surmounted  at  the  top  of  the  drum  by  rude 
bronze  images  of  frogs  in  complete  relief.  We  do  not  know  what 
symbolism  was  played  by  this  animal  form,  but  we  can  clearly  say 
that  their  modelling  is  precisely  like  that  of  the  rude  clay  figures  of 
unglazed  prehistoric  pottery  in  China  and  Japan,  and  therefore  still 
further  attests  its  Southern  origin.*  A fourth  form,  of  bronze, 
was  the  mirrors,  generally  circular  discs,  the  backs  of  which  were 
ornamented  in  low  and  high  relief.  The  use  of  such  mirrors  may 

® In  the  spring  of  1908,  when  crossing  in  the  steamer  with  the  well-known 
Dr.  de  Grote,  of  Leyden,  Holland,  Professor  Fenollosa  had  an  opportunity  of  discussing 
many  such  questions.  Dr.  de  Grote  said  that  among  European  students  of  the  present 
day  it  was  generally  thought  that  these  frogs  typefied  a desire  for  rain,  and  that  such 
drums  were  almost  surely  used  by  the  priests  in  invoking  supernatural  powers  to  terminate 
a drought. 


CHINESE  ART  OF  THE  HAN  DYNASTY  25 

have  come  from  Persian  or  Greek  suggestion,  but  their  patterns 
probably  did  not.  Here,  however,  is  a great  point  of  dispute,  for 

though  a large  number  of  Han  mirrors  imaged  in  the  antiquarian 

books,  and  found  in  collections,  are  of  a mingled  curve  and  star 
pattern,  interspersed  with  inscriptions  in  Han  characters — patterns 
which  are  clearly  congeners  of  all  else  that  we  know  in  Han  orna- 
mental spacing — there  are  a few  exceptional  pieces  shown  in  the 
Chinese  wood-cuts,  by  outline  only,  and  akin  to  a few  actual  mirrors 
which  we  have  in  our  collections  ; which  I cannot,  except  for  the  native 
judgment,  find  any  evidence  of  belonging  to  Han.  These  are  the  so- 
called  “ grape  and  sea-horse  ” mirrors,  where  the  whole  back  is  closely 
loaded  with  a most  intricate  curving  pattern  in  high,  carefully 

moulded  relief  in  bands,  and  a central  rosette  of  branches  and 
bunches  of  the  grape,  intercurving  in  a most  natural  manner,  and 
interspersed  with  delicately-winged  flying  birds,  the  inner  circles  often 
being  most  graceful ; animal  forms  of  horses,  lions,  and  rabbits, 

cantering  about  among  a network  of  graceful  foliage,  the  central 
medallion  having  the  same  animals  in  airy  circuit,  or  the  strange, 
half  bear-like  hairy  animal  called  the  “ sea-horse,”  of  which  term  there 
is  no  explanation.  The  central  knob,  through  a hole  in  which  plays 
the  cord  that  holds  the  mirror,  is  generally  of  this  sea-horse,  but  more 
primitively  modelled,  more  like  the  frogs  upon  the  bronze  drums. 

We  come  now  to  the  consideration  of  a quite  different  set  of  forms  from 
Han  art,  whose  largeness  of  simple  line  and  space  relation  are  entirely  in 
harmony  with  the  vases  and  bronzes,  and  whose  patterns  also  show  kinship 
to  Mesopotamian  prototypes — namely  the  famous  stone  carvings  of  scenes 
from  Chinese  history  and  life,  found  in  several  places  lining  the  interior  of 
caves  in  the  province  of  Shantung.  These  are  of  enormous  value,  because 
they  are  the  oldest  elaborate  representations  of  human  beings  remain- 
ing in  China,  because  they  are  dated , because  they  illustrate  for  us 
the  whole  round  of  Chinese  history  and  tradition  as  known  to  Han 
scholars,  and  because  they  give  us  clear  ideas  as  to  the  natural 
limitations  of  Han  power  in  design.  Rubbings  from  most  of  these 
have  been  published  by  Professor  Chavannes,  and  printed  from 
wood-cuts  in  the  Kinseibu  Sa. 

For  the  most  part  these  divide  themselves  into  two  series,  the 
earlier  and  more  meagre  of  which  belongs  to  the  first  century 
antedating  the  birth  of  Christ.  These  show  figures  of  men,  horses, 
VOL.  1.  e 


26  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

chariots,  etc.,  incised  in  lines  into  the  stone,  being  the  earliest 
representations  of  human  life  that  have  come  down  to  us  in  Chinese 
art.  Many  horses  are  sometimes  driven  abreast,  and  in  the  profile 
drawing  appear  almost  super-imposed,  as  in  primitive  Egyptian  design. 
These  horses  are  not  like  the  little  stocky  Tartar  ponies,  with  short 
necks  and  legs,  but  all  full-blooded  steeds,  high-spirited,  head  and 
forelegs  lifted  into  lines  of  proud  arch,  with  much  fine  rhythm  of 
general  curve  and  with  good  action  in  the  seated  figures.  Here 
are  dramatic  scenes  clearly  modelled  upon  methods  and  subjects  of 
wall  decoration  found  in  Western  Asia.  This  is  still  more  obviously 
the  case  in  the  second  and  much  more  voluminous  series,  found  also  in 
Shantung,  and  dating  from  the  second  century  after  Christ,  that  is  towards 
the  end  of  the  later  Han,  when  the  capital  had  been  removed  to  the 
ancient  Chinese  seats  in  the  East  (Honan).  Here  we  have  a complete 
round  of  illustration  of  all  the  important  mythical  and  recorded  deeds 
of  ancient  Chinese  history;  the  heroes,  the  patriarchs,  the  emperors, 
coronations  and  assassinations,  scenes  of  engineering  and  of  agriculture, 
the  visit  of  the  Chow  conqueror  to  the  “Queen  of  the  West,”  the 
early  deeds  of  Han  itself ; beside  a whole  menagerie  of  animal 

forms,  frequently  representing  spiritual  beings,  flying  horses  with 
wings  and  serpent  tails,  monkeys  and  imps — beings  half-human,  half- 
animal, with  interlacing  tails,  forming  in  places  net-works  of  design 
with  added  whirls  of  cloud,  of  hundreds  of  figures  caught  into  an 
interlaced,  wriggling  pattern.  Most  of  these  seem  to  be  Taoist 

spirits,  showing  the  vigour  of  that  cult  even  at  a day  when  its 

rival,  Confucianism,  had  been  in  some  sense  adapted  for  government 
administration.  These  figures  are  raised  in  relief  upon  the  stone 
tablets,  and  so  in  the  rubbings  come  out  into  black  silhouette.  Here 
are  hundreds  of  horsemen  and  footmen,  showing  every  rank  of  noble 
and  soldier — a little  compendium  of  Chinese  life  at  that  remote  day. 
Considerable  change  is  noticed  from  the  style  of  the  earlier  of 

Western  Han,  in  that  the  horses  are  now  more  clumsy,  with  con- 
ventional fat  curves  and  weaker  legs,  but  still  with  an  attempt  to 

render  them  high-stepping  and  snorting.  The  action  of  the  figures, 

too,  is  very  spirited.  We  can  thus  conclude  that  this  Mesopotamian- 
derived  school  of  figure  representation  did  not  materially  change 
throughout  the  whole  length  of  Han,  having  become  a fixed  style, 

of  which  most  of  the  movements  are  lost,  a style  which  is  quite 


Five  Examples  of  Stone  Carving. 


CHINESE  ART  OF  THE  HAN  DYNASTY  27 

in  harmony  with  the  strong  and  somewhat  rude  curve  systems  of 
Han  ornamental  pattern  already  noticed.  And  here  finally  we  can 

see  the  representation  of  the  sacred  Babylonian  tree,  the  “ tree  of  life,” 
found  in  modern  Persian  carpets,  growing  clearly  in  the  Paradise 
garden  of  the  Taoist  Western  Queen. 

In  aesthetic  respects  these  horse  forms  of  Han  are  more  spirited 
than  any  equine  delineation  of  China  at  a later  day,  where  the  native 
Tartar  ill-shaped  breed  becomes  the  model ; but  they  are  not  so  fine 
as  the  superb  horse  painting  of  the  Japanese  Tosa  School  in  the 
twelfth  century,  described  in  Chapter  IX.  This  Han  art,  and 
especially  the  round  of  human  forms,  if  studied  in  close  relation  to  the 
fine  mass  of  Taoist  and  social  poetry,  will  give  us  a clear  conception 
of  the  mentality  of  Han,  and  prevent  our  importing  into  it  so  much 
that  belongs  to  later  Chinese  growth.  In  the  latter  part  of  Han 
probably  began  a thin  stream  of  commercial  relations  with  India  and 
the  Western  ocean.  An  embassy  from  Marcus  Aurelius  Antonius, 
Emperor  of  Rome,  is  reported  in  Chinese  annals  to  have  arrived  in 
Southern  Han;  but  Professor  Hirth  believes  this  to  have  been  probably  a 
private  venture  of  Parthian  or  Arabian  merchants,  subjects  of  Roman 
Syria,  who  assumed  the  imperial  name.  Chinese  records  also  show  that 
the  Han  people  were  well  informed  as  to  the  structure  and  defences  of 
the  Syrian  capital,  Antioch. 

But  the  downfall  of  the  later  enervated  Han  was  inevitable,  not 
only  because  of  wasteful  civil  wars  that  lasted  for  generations  and  broke 
China  up  into  a second  group  of  feudal  states,  but  through  the  gradual 
irruption  of  Tartar  tribes  from  the  North,  who,  scaling  the  Great  Wall, 
snatched  province  after  province  of  the  North  from  the  weak 
hegemony  of  rapidly  changing  dynasty,  and  finally  drove  what  was  left 
of  Chinese  vigour  into  the  safe  recesses  of  the  South,  near  the  Yangtse 
and  below,  where  they  might  recruit  their  fortunes.  In  this  way  the 
unity  of  Han  art  was  doubtless  weakened  and  lost,  though  an  influence 
that  had  acquired  so  much  headway  could  not  suddenly  cease.  But  the 
chief  reason  for  making  our  break  here,  and  commencing  a new  chapter, 
is  that  a third  great  stream  of  Art  forms  and  motives  now  began  to 
flow  into  China  from  a third  direction — the  Southern — namely  Buddhism, 
with  all  its  complex  and  important  potentialities  for  later  Chinese 
civilization.  Chinese  art  is  first  Pacific,  second  Mesopotamian,  third 
Indian  Buddhist. 


e 2 


Chapter  III. 


CHINESE  BUDDHIST  ART  TO  THE  TANG  DYNASTY. 

Indian  Influence — Third  Century  a.d.  to  the  Sixth  Century. 

THE  introduction  of  Buddhism  into  China  from  India,  and  event- 
ually through  China  to  Corea,  Mongolia,  Manchuria,  and  Japan, 
was  one  of  those  stupendous  revolutions,  like  the  carrying  of 
Christianity  to  the  Gentiles,  which  well-nigh  obliterate  racial  and  national 
lines,  and  bring  humanity  to  pay  common  tribute  to  spiritual  forces.  How 
profoundly  Chinese  and  Japanese  civilization  in  general,  and  art 
in  particular,  were  gradually  transformed  by  this  quiet,  pungent  in- 
fluence, has  never  been  written  by  any  native  scholar,  and  hardly  even 
conceived  by  any  European.  On  the  one  hand  we  have  the  vague 
statement  of  our  geographies  that  400,000,000  of  Buddhists  in  China 
alone  are  to  be  added  to  the  quota  of  Sakyamuni’s  devotees.  One 
naturally  infers  that  Buddhist  thought  and  feeling  are  still  to  be  found 
paramount  in  all  the  institutions  of  Mongolian  civilization.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  impression  of  actual  travellers,  and  especially  foreign 
scholars,  in  China,  is  that  Buddhism  has  become  there  a decayed  and 
despised  cult,  having  almost  no  hold  on  the  educated  classes,  and 
quite  a negligible  factor  in  analysing  the  spirit  of  Chinese  institutions. 
The  standard  works  on  Chinese  life  and  culture  almost  ignore 
it.  The  place  of  Buddhist  ideals  in  Chinese  literature  is  seldom 
discussed  ; and  the  evident  necessity  of  including  Indian  motive  in 
certain  phases  of  Far  Eastern  art  is  explained  rather  as  an  isolated 
phenomenon. 

That  the  mass  of  the  Chinese  of  the  present  day  are  devout 
Buddhists,  as  the  Ceylonese  are,  would  be  quite  a misstatement.  The  fact 
is  that  the  whole  influence  of  Confucian  scholarship  and  influence  that 
is,  the  force  of  the  whole  Mandarin  order,  is  implacably  opposed  to  the 


CHINESE  BUDDHIST  ART 


29 


spirit  of  Buddhism,  and  has  been  from  the  eighth  century,  and  even 
before.  This  is  why  the  views  of  Chinese  history,  and  the  estimate  of 
relative  values  among  institutions,  derived  through  Chinese  scholarship — 
and  most  of  our  Sinologues  drink  from  that  source — are  entirely  false  in 
their  prevailing  attitude,  in  that  Chinese  scholarship,  lying  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  Confucian  literati,  has  always  been  violently  partisan  and 
antagonistic.  The  truth  is  that  a very  large  part  of  the  finest  thought 
and  standards  of  living  that  have  gone  into  Chinese  life,  and  the  finest 
part  of  what  has  issued  therefrom  in  literature  and  art,  have  been 
strongly  tinged  with  Buddhism.  To  write  the  history  of  the  Chinese 
soul  without  seriously  considering  Buddhism,  would  be  like  writing  the 
history  of  Europe  under  the  hypothesis  that  Christianity  was  a foreign 
and  alien  faith  whose  re-rooting  in  Western  soil  had  been  sporadic, 
disturbing,  and  on  the  whole  deleterious. 

How  great  practical  peoples,  like  these  healthy  shoots  of  the  Altaic 
race,  the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese,  could  ever  have  taken  up  with  such 
a negative,  pessimistic,  and  non-political  religion  as  the  Buddhist  re- 
nunciation, may  seem  to  many  fairly  questionable.  The  answer  is  that 
here,  too,  partisanship  stands  in  the  way  of  truth-seeing.  Most  of  our 
information  about  the  Indian  religion  is  derived  from  Southern  sources, 
Pali,  and  the  whole  round  of  the  Ceylonese  illumination.  It  is  enough 
for  scholars,  who  sometimes  have  a missionary  bias,  that  Southern 
Buddhism,  the  “Lesser  Vehicle,”  being  the  older  (and  the  easier  to 
refute),  must  lie  nearer  to  the  original  source,  Sakyamuni  himself ; and 
is  therefore  the  only  form  that  we  need  seriously  study  or  consider, 
Northern  Buddhism,  they  think,  being  derivative,  revolutionary  and 
corrupt,  need  be  studied  only  as  a perverse  curiosity.  The  great  truth 
which  they  forget  is  that  Buddhism,  like  Christianity — and  unlike 
Mohammedanism — has  been  an  evolutionary  religion,  never  content  with 
old  formalisms,  but,  filled  with  spiritual  ardour,  continually  re-adapting 
itself  to  the  needs  of  the  human  nature  with  which  it  finds  itself  in 
contact.  Thus,  becoming  Northern  or  positive  Buddhism  with  the  more 
vigorous  Northern  races  in  the  North-west  of  India,  it  became  still  more 
positive,  social,  and  human  with  the  great  practical  home-loving  races  of 
China  and  Japan. 

The  attitude  of  those  who  would  minimize  the  effect  of  Buddhism 
in  China  is  self-contradictory  ; in  that,  on  the  one  hand,  they  ask  how 
these  sane  moral  peoples  should  have  adopted  a “ degenerate  Southern 


30  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

pessimism,”  and,  on  the  other  hand,  denounce  the  Northern  forms, 
which  have  been  made  practical  and  optimistic  by  the  vigorous  contact, 
as  “ corruptions  from  the  pure  original  doctrine.”  The  truth  about 
it  quite  corresponds  to  the  commonplace  fact  in  Christian  history, 
that  our  many  modern  Catholic  and  Protestant  sects,  which  cannot 
all — in  spite  of  their  several  claims  — be  identical  with  the  primitive 
Christianity  of  the  Apostles  — have  all  been  sane  and  broadening 

efforts  of  the  central  truth  to  meet  the  almost  infinitely  varying 
forms  of  human  need.  English  Episcopacy  and  Puritanism  may  have 
been  equally  hateful  to  a Southerner ; and  yet  really  express  sides  of 
Christian  truth  that  conform  to  two  powerful  strands  in  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race. 

It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  the  introduction  of  Buddhist  art 
into  China  was  a slow  affair,  comprising  in  time  a vast  number  of 
the  great  revolutionary  movements  within  the  body  of  universal 
Buddhism.  The  date  61  a.  d. — so  often  given  by  writers  who  rely 

chiefly  on  the  written  word  as  the  important  date  of  Buddha’s  introduc- 
tion to  the  Han  Emperor  Meitei  in  the  form  of  a small  gilt  image — 
is  of  no  special  importance  to  us  ; first,  because  we  can  hardly  identify 
the  form  of  the  image  ; second,  because  it  belonged  probably  to  early 
and  still  negative  forms  of  Buddhism  ; third,  because  in  fact  the  new 
religion  hardly  began  to  exercise  appreciable  influence  upon  China  and 
Chinese  thought  before  the  third  century;  and  fourth,  because  we  can 
trace  no  Chinese  modifications  in  Buddhist  art,  no  incorporation  of  the 
new  aesthetic  canons,  before  the  third  or  fourth  century.  It  is  from 

these  latter  dates,  after  the  final  fall  of  the  Han  dynasty,  that  it  is 

proper  to  trace  the  real  rise  of  Buddhist  art  in  China.  Let  us 
premise  once  for  all  that  this  art  is  largely  sculpture,  and  that  too 
sculpture  in  bronze,  including  also  those  forms  of  decorated  industry 
that  entered  into  temple  architecture  and  ritual. 

But  before  we  begin  a detailed  study  of  the  course  of  this  new  art 
in  the  Middle  Kingdom,  it  will  be  clarifying  to  preface  a brief  word 
concerning  the  little  we  know  of  early  Buddhist  art  in  the  various 
parts  of  India.  The  origins  of  Indian  art  are  lost  in  obscurity,  though 
it  seems  likely  that  the  transition  from  wooden  to  stone  forms  took 
place  as  late  as  the  second  or  third  century  before  Christ.  The 
erections  and  sculptures  of  that  day  are  regarded  as  early  creative  forms 
in  Buddhist  art.  In  those  we  seem  to  trace  at  least  two  different 


Eastern  Gate  of  Sanchi  Tope. 


CHINESE  BUDDHIST  ART 


3* 

streams  of  influence,  one  native  and  aboriginal,  the  other  exotic  and 
largely  Mesopotamian.  It  is  not  an  accidental  phenomenon  that  late 
Persian  and  Greco-Syrian  forms  should  have  entered  the  China  of 
Han  at  almost  the  same  moment  that  they  were  moving  south-east 
also  to  assist  in  the  expression  of  Buddhist  motive.  It  was  all  part 
of  the  dislocation  and  dispersion  and  eastward  driving  that  followed 
the  great  upheaval  of  Alexander.  It  was  one  of  Alexander’s  own 
generals  who  first  visited  Central  India  and  brought  back  to  Europe 
accurate  accounts. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  attempt  the  herculean  task  of  dating  or 
classifying  the  movements  of  Indian  art.  It  is  enough  for  our  pur- 
pose merely  to  note  a few  of  the  typical  forms  that  passed  over  in 
the  assthetic  transmission  to  China  and  Japan.  Among  the  forms 
of  native  origin  must  be  mentioned  first  what  appears  to  be  a key 
form  to  Buddhist  architecture,  which  Fergusson  has  conjectured  to 
be  derived  from  the  primitive  bamboo  and  bark  huts,  such  as  are  seen 
to-day  among  the  hill  tribes  of  Central  India,  notably  the  Todas. 
These  are  small  and  low  tents,  made  by  bending  flexible  poles  over 
into  a semi-pointed  arch,  with  both  ends  inserted  into  the  earth  ; two 
or  more  of  which  set  parallel  and  connected  by  longitudinal  rafters 
make  a frame  over  which  can  be  stretched  a covering  that  approximates 
in  form  a semi-cylinder.  The  curve,  however,  is  more  subtle  than  a 
circular  segment,  since  the  pole  ends  are  not  quite  vertical,  and  the  arch, 
though  blunt,  slightly  approximates  a Gothic  point.  How  thoroughly 
this  form  entered  into  Buddhist  architecture  may  be  seen  first  in  the 
cave  temples,  where  the  cylindrical  nave  opens  within  this  arch  into  a 
fagade,  often  filled  with  a stone  discus  representing  window  openings 
of  the  same  pattern.  When  independent  stone  temples  were  erected, 
these  forms  still  remained  for  doors  and  windows  ; and  are  found,  too, 
in  many  of  the  wooden  temple  erections  in  China  and  Japan  as  an 
ornamental  form  for  window  spacing. 

The  dome  is  but  such  a cylindrical  section  projected  by  revolution 
upon  an  arch  ; and  this  dome  we  find  in  the  earliest  forms  of  the  stupa, 

or  sacred  tumulus,  and  the  derivative  forms  of  the  altar  niche  in  the 

caves,  the  diminutive  tombs  in  cemeteries,  and  the  reliquaries  in  priestly 
treasuries.  From  this  form,  too,  grew  the  well-known  pagoda  which 
in  its  earliest  form,  still  occasionally  found  as  far  East  as  Japan,  is 

merely  a tiled  wooden  roof  built  over  a dome  formation,  and  over  the 


32  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

square  block  member  that  surmounted  it.  In  such  Japanese  pagodas 
the  dome,  shown  only  above  the  lower  roof  in  a strip  of  white  plaster, 
is  not  itself  structural,  but  only  an  ornamental  relic,  the  square  wooden 
framework  below  being  the  true  erection.  A high  pagoda  is  only 
a multiplication  of  these  roofs,  which  needed  not  to  be  always  of 
equal  space,  as  shown  in  the  remarkable  Yakushiji  pagoda  near  Nara, 
Japan. 

Passing  now  to  features  of  Indian  Buddhist  art  that  are  wholly  or 
partly  imported,  we  might  point  at  once  to  the  famous  stone  gateways 
of  the  primitive  Sanchi  type,  whose  wooden  architecture  seems  just  to 
be  passing  into  clumsy  stone.  While  the  crowded  small  figures  in 
elaborate  carving  are  not  specially  Mesopotamian,  the  rosette  forms 
set  at  salient  points,  and  the  winged  animals,  lions  and  bulls,  set  on 
the  pillars  and  posts,  are  clearly  of  Persian  influence.  How  strongly 
the  rosette  form  recalls  Assyrian,  even  where  it  had  been  already  attached 
to  a lotos  centre,  is  exemplified  in  the  so-called  “ moon  stones  ” ol 
Ceylon,  which  are  really  the  lotos  thrones,  on  which  the  sacred  erection, 
dome  and  terraces  and  stairways — as  if  as  a whole  they  formed  the 
very  worshipful  altar-piece — stand.  Here  the  concentric  bands  of  moving 
animals  and  birds,  intertwined  with  scrolls  of  leaf  and  stem,  point  back 
to  early  Assyrian  animal  motives,  and  forward  to  the  elaborate  mirrors 
and  rich  halos  of  the  seventh  century  in  China  and  Japan. 

The  Sanchi  forms  of  Indian  art,  too,  were  partly  incorporated 
with  the  primitive  Chinese  conception  of  the  dragon,  originally  Pacific  ; 
and  the  lotos  is  only  the  chief  among  Indian  plant  forms  that  enter 
into  later  Mongolian  symbolism  and  pattern. 

We  come  now,  lastly,  to  effigies  of  Buddha  and  other  spiritual 
beings  which  form  the  very  core  of  Buddhistic  art.  In  early  Buddhist 
symbolism  the  human  image,  as  a thing  to  worship,  probably  played 
no  part,  the  stupa  itself  as  containing  a relic,  the  wheel  of  the  law,  and 
the  sacred  “Trisul,”  taking  the  place  of  altar-piece.  But  such  severity 
of  impersonal  restraint  probably  did  not  last  down  to  the  Christian 
epoch  ; for  we  hear  of  Buddha’s  image  in  China,  and  the  earliest  of 
the  cave  temples  have  representations  of  the  sacred  figure  on  the  altars. 
The  most  primitive  form  may'  well  have  been  a plain  naked  figure,  so 
severe  as  almost  to  transcend  human  contour,  and  with  no  ornament 
whatever.  But  a standard  Southern  type,  which  also  extended  more  or 
less  through  the  whole  geography  of  Indian  Buddhism,  is  probably 


One  of  the  Buddhist  Lotos  Thrones,  often  called 
“Moon  Stones.”  From  Ceylon. 


CHINESE  BUDDHIST  ART 


33 


given  us  in  those  colossal  Ceylonese  stone  figures  whose  clumsy  bodies 
are  swathed  in  a single  gauzy  robe  whose  many  thin  and  nearly  parallel 
lines  of  fold  sweep  like  a river  of  wavy  curves  over  body,  arm  and  leg 
in  an  expressive  ornamental  pattern.  However  simplified  and  modified 
these  lines  of  drapery  become  in  a hundred  later  schools,  they  are  always 
present  in  some  traceable  form. 

The  Bodhisattwa  form  seems  to  be  equally  primitive  with  the 
Buddha.  This  is  of  a graceful  swaying  figure,  seemingly  feminine, 
with  high  tiara  set  over  long  flowing  locks,  and  festoons  of  jewels 
hanging  from  various  parts  of  the  body.  The  third  order  of 
Buddhist  spirit,  the  violent  deities  which  correspond  to  Siva  in  later 
Hinduism,  had  not  been  developed  as  early  as  the  period  of 
which  we  speak.  They  derive  doubtless  from  a closer  union 
between  the  Buddhism  of  the  early  Christian  centuries  and  a 

revived  Hindu  mysticism  based  upon  the  pre-Buddhist  literature. 
We  shall  speak  of  these  under  the  mystical  Chinese  and  Japanese 
art  of  later  chapters.  The  forms  of  imps,  however,  or  elemental 
spirits  lower  than  man,  have  already  been  introduced. 

That  there  must  already  have  been  a split  in  the  Buddhist 
ranks  between  the  more  conservative  Southern  sects  and  the  non- 
Indian  races  of  the  North  and  North-west,  the  Nepaulese,  Cashmerians, 
and  the  tribes  that  worked  toward  Central  Asia  over  the  North 

plateaus.  Here  we  find  evidence  of  a different  art — a Himalayan 
art,  a more  Mongolian  face,  a more  decorative  catching  of  the  folds 
of  the  garment  about  the  legs,  long  sweeps  of  mantle  over  the 

shoulders,  and  heavy  rosettes  and  flower  festoons  upon  the  hair, 
twined  over  the  breast,  or  worked  into  the  strong  girdle  at  the  waist. 

These  forms  that  have  remained  are  mostly  in  bronze,  and  small  ; 

and  seem  to  be  of  a primitive  character  that  would  render  them 
the  common  ancestor  of  Chinese  bronzes,  and  of  the  later  Thibetan 
art.  That  it  was  some  such  statuette  that  was  brought  to  the  Han 
Emperor  seems  probable;  at  any  rate  such  statues  from  the  Indus 

valley,  or  possibly  from  Turkestan  itself,  finally  striking  the  caravan 
route  from  China  to  the  Caspian,  came  Eastward  to  the  Flowery 
Land  as  early  as  the  close  of  Han. 

It  should  be  confessed,  once  for  all,  that  of  the  enormous  mass  of 

primitive  bronze  statuettes  from  many  Asian  sources  which  have  always 

passed  among  Japanese  antiquaries  under  the  name  of  ‘c  Indo-Butsu,” 


34  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

or  Indian  Buddha,  it  is  often  difficult  to  identify  the  origin.  So  many 
of  foreign  make  were  copied  or  slightly  modified  by  centuries  of  workers 
in  all  Northern  Buddhist  countries,  that  which  is  the  true  Indian,  which 
the  Chinese,  which  the  Corean,  and  which  the  Japanese,  has  become 
the  great  puzzle  of  the  students  for  the  last  twenty  years.  And  while 
in  many  cases  we  can  identify  with  considerable  probability  the  racial 
element  in  the  school  of  design,  it  is  often  impossible  to  assert  that 
the  object  which  displays  this  may  not  be  an  early  copy  executed  by  a 
foreign  artist.  I am  not  now  speaking  of  modern  bronze  copies,  which 
can  be  fairly  well  distinguished  from  the  antiques ; I am  referring 
only  to  bronze  whose  certain  date  must  fall  between  the  second  and 
seventh  centuries.  The  same  is  true,  to  a less  extent,  of  the 
wooden  statues. 

The  Han  dynasty  of  China  fell  in  221  a.d.  after  a long  period 
of  weakness,  which  was  destined  to  be  followed  by  a break-up  into 
separate  feudal  states  almost  as  hopeless  as  the  disintegration  of  the 
Roman  Empire  which  was  already  commencing.  The  third  century 
after  Christ  was  given  over  in  China  to  the  terrible  anarchy  involved 
in  the  sanguinary  “ Wars  of  the  Three  States,”  a mediaeval  age  of 
epic  heroism,  which  has  been  sung  in  a hundred  forms  of  prose  and 
verse,  both  in  China  and  Japan,  and  entered  as  motive  into  a dozen 
dramas.  From  this  wild  warfare  issues  the  colossal  shape  of  a hero, 
Kwan-u,  with  a sad  face  and  herculean  frame,  who  is  still  worshipped 
as  a Chinese  Mars. 

In  such  confused  times  it  is  improbable  that  any  definite  move 
toward  a new  Chinese  School  of  Buddhist  art  could  be  afforded. 
The  art  and  the  poetry  are  both  confessed  off-shoots  from  the  Han 
stem.  And  the  next  century  became  even  worse,  for  now  many 
Tartar  conquerors,  emboldened  by  the  dissensions  of  the  Chinese 
Kingdoms,  came  down  from  the  North,  mingling  as  mercenaries  with 
their  employers,  quite  as  the  Teutonic  people  at  the  same  moment 
were  enslaving  in  Europe  the  Roman  army ; until,  finally,  they  were 
able  to  wrench  away  from  the  nominal  Chinese  Emperor  a large  portion 
of  his  Northern  tributaries.  It  is  part  of  the  same  great  irruption  that 
was  beginning:  to  let  loose  a tidal  wave  of  the  kindred  Tartar  Huns 
against  the  Roman  Empire. 

So  far  as  we  can  peer  back  into  the  arts  of  this  day,  they  show 
only  a clumsy  Chinese  modification  of  the  Indian  Buddhist  types. 


Early  Statue  of  Buddha.  At  Serioji,  near  Kioto. 


CHINESE  BUDDHIST  ART 


35 

The  great  wooden  Buddha  of  Seirioji,  near  Kioto,  the  most  primitive  of 
all  the  Southern  types  of  Chinese  Buddhas,  is  probably  a Chinese  work 
of  this  fourth  century,  retaining  much  of  the  Han  clumsiness  and  angular 
sharpness  of  feature,  while  it  turns  into  a certain  symmetrical  rude 
decoration  the  Indian  lines  of  clinging  stuff,  which  it  can  afford  to 
raise  into  heavier  carving  upon  its  wooden  surface.  The  ancient 
tradition  is  that  it  is  the  original  contemporary  statue  of  Buddha, 
brought  from  India  to  China,  whence  it  was  stolen  by  a Japanese 
devotee  who  surreptitiously  substituted  a copy.  But  such  manuscript 
traditions  in  the  records  of  Japanese  Buddhist  temples  are  for  the 
most  part  of  no  great  weight,  and  we  are  free  to  believe  this  a 
Chinese  original  modified  from  some  Indian  statuette  or  drawing. 

By  the  year  420  of  our  era  a decisive  change  was  wrought  for 
China,  full  of  the  most  important  consequences  for  the  future  of  her 
literature  and  art  ; and  that  was  a clear  division  of  the  groups  of 
Chinese  states  into  North  and  South  dynasties — the  whole  North,  the 
ancestral  seats,  being  taken  over  by  Tartar  conquerors,  and  for  the  first 
time  Emperors  of  pure  Chinese  race  moving  their  capital  down  into 
the  lately  civilised  South.  This  separation,  with  relatively  long  inter- 
vals of  peace  between  the  two  sections,  lasted  nearly  two  centuries, 
down  to  589.  In  these  two  full  centuries  Chinese  culture,  including 
poetry  and  art,  entirely  re-created  themselves. 

Of  what  took  place  in  the  Tartar  regions  of  the  North  we  know 
little,  since  their  dynasties  have  not  been  recognised  by  Chinese  his- 
torians as  legitimate.  The  true  Celestial  annals,  and  indeed  the  lore  of 
Chinese  genius,  belong  at  this  time  to  the  stimulus  afforded  by  the 
new  Southern  conditions.  The  new  Capital,  near  the  present  Nankin, 
was  on  the  great  Yangtse,  now  just  blossoming  into  her  heritage  of 
wealth  and  commerce,  and  not  far  from  the  centre  of  a most  picturesque 
region,  splendid  lakes  and  magnificent  mountains,  still  almost  unexplored, 
and  covered  with  dense  primeval  forests.  Not  only  did  this  sudden 
revelation  of  natural  beauty  impress  the  Chinese  imagination,  hereto- 
fore fed  upon  the  more  arid  plains  of  the  more  ancient  North  ; but 
it  must  be  remembered  that  it  was  in  this  very  central  district,  hardly 
yet  won  to  Mongol  culture,  that  Laotse,  the  founder  of  Individualism 
and  Taoism,  had  been  born  some  1,000  years  before  ; that  here  the 
first  great  elegiac  poet,  Kutsugen,  had  poured  forth  his  lamentations 
in  rich  splendour  of  imagery  and  the  long  swinging  lines  of  a new 


36  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

metre.  Here,  too,  a primitive  people,  of  smaller  stature,  possibly  allied 
to  the  Japanese,  had  pursued  rude  arts  of  their  own  from  an  unpierced 
antiquity,  among  which  were  the  plastic  forms  of  unglazed  vases,  and 
the  rude  effigies  of  animals  and  birds  in  the  same  rough  material. 
Later  in  the  Han  dynasty  this  very  plastic  genius  had  found  vent  in 
characteristic  bronzes,  such  as  the  drums  and  the  frogs  set  upon  their 
face.  Here  were  veins  of  feeling  and  susceptibility  fresh  and  unworked, 
capable  of  inoculating  with  new  power  the  somewhat  worn  imagination 
of  the  destroyers  of  Han.  It  was  the  reversal  of  geographical  relation- 
ships in  Europe,  where  the  dispersed  Romans  found  new  springs  of 
effort  in  the  vigorous  forests  of  a German  North.  It  must  be  noticed, 
too,  that  these  Southern  seats  of  the  Chinese  were  in  closer  proximity 
to  a new  part  of  India,  the  South  through  Burmah,  or  along  the 
opening  lines  of  coast  trade.  A few  adventurous  Arabian  merchants 
were  already  seeking  the  Southern  and  Eastern  ports ; and  a revived 
native  dynasty  in  Persia  (the  Sassanian)  was  in  some  vague  communi- 
cation by  sea  with  the  Chinese  coast.  The  Byzantine  Empire,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Eastern  successor  of  the  Romans,  still  held  a caravan 
overland  trade  with  the  Northern  or  Tartar  provinces.  Still,  as  late  as 
451,  the  Hunnish  invasions  of  Europe  largely  blocked  the  lines  of 
peaceful  traffic.  In  the  great  simultaneous  dissolving  of  the  Roman  and 
Han  Empires,  the  unstable  hordes  of  Tartar  locusts  blotted  out  vast 
regions  of  intervening  space,  and  almost  obliterated  the  memory  of  the 
earlier  contact.  Civilisation  had  to  be  resown  at  both  ends,  and  it  was 
the  new  Southern  dynasties  of  China  that  began  to  reap  the  Eastern 
harvest. 

It  was  here,  too,  in  the  Southern  Chinese  nests,  that  Buddhism 
could  drop  her  most  fertile  germs.  The  Northern  route  from  India 
to  China  was  precarious  at  best  ; the  superstitious  tribes  on  the  desert 
border  welcomed  Indian  culture  as  a new  kind  of  fetich  rather  than  as 
inner  enlightenment,  and  the  Confucian  scholars  of  Wei  were,  as  always, 
most  powerful  with  their  Tartar  masters,  and  even  led  them  at  times 
to  kill  Buddhist  priests  and  destroy  monasteries.  It  was  in  the 

romantic,  the  Taoist,  the  Individualistic  South  that  the  deeper 
Buddhism  found  its  natural  ally.  Taoism  was  already  the  sworn  toe 
of  the  Confucian  Socialism,  full  of  mystical  leanings,  inclined  to  poetry 
and  art.  With  it  the  stronger  tenets  of  a positive  Buddhism  that 
regarded  the  devotee  as  a kind  of  spiritual  hero,  able  to  conquer 


CHINESE  BUDDHIST  ART 


37 


all  regions  of  matter  and  spirit,  quickly  amalgamated.  In  short,  we 
can  assert  that  the  religion  of  the  three  Southern  dynasties  which 
now  ruled  successively  at  Nanking — the  Sung,  the  Tsi,  and  the  Liang — 
is  a working  union  between  Taoism  and  Buddhism,  which  practically 
excluded  for  the  time  all  the  chilly  growth  of  Confucian  classicism. 
Here,  at  these  Courts  upon  the  Yangtse,  or  often  in  picturesque 
monasteries  perched  high  on  the  shoulders  of  wild  mountains,  the 
imported  Indian  priests  and  their  native  scholars  mastered  the  greater 
part  of  that  stupendous  translation  of  Sanscrit  and  Pali  texts  which  is 
known  as  the  Chinese  canon.  The  enormously  rich  literary  treasures 
of  the  Indian  mind,  and  of  Buddhist  lore  in  its  successive  growths, 
lay  now  in  the  hands  of  the  imaginative  Chinese. 

One  more  important  factor  must  be  noticed — the  general  adoption 
throughout  China  of  a new  form  of  writing  material,  a fine  grained 
paper,  instead  of  bamboo  and  clumsy  bark  papyrus,  with  flexible  silk 
tissue  for  assthetic  effort  ; the  manufacture  of  a rich  dark  ink  from 
lamp-black  mixed  with  glue  ; and  especially  an  improved  form  of  hair 
pencil,  which,  with  firm  thick  base,  thinned  at  the  tip  into  a fine 
point,  afforded  great  elasticity  and  modulated  thickness  to  the 
touch  ; and  a full  reservoir  of  pigment  for  prolonged  writing.  With 
these  tools  Chinese  written  characters  became  transformed  from  the 
several  stages  of  cutting  and  smearing  in  clumsy  symbolism  into  a pure 
caligraphic  art  where  the  flexibility  of  perfect  brush  stroke  could  unite 
with  decorative  proportioning.  Also  a new  medium  for  art  was  now 
furnished,  that  could  substitute  for  rudely  relieved  silhouettes  upon 
bronze,  stone,  or  wooden  plates,  freer  images  conceived  first  in  terms  of 
separated  and  highly  decorative  lines,  which  lines  could  then  be  filled 
in  with  tones  of  ink,  or  with  colours  to  differentiate  pictorially  the 
value  of  masses. 

It  was  in  the  first  of  the  three  Southern  dynasties,  the  Sung  (So), 
that  all  these  innovations  found  notable  beginnings.  The  great  poet, 
Toemmei,  for  the  first  time,  praises  the  life  of  rustic  freedom  upon 
the  Yangtse,  and  forms  one  of  a White  Lotos  Club  of  mountain 
climbers  and  thinkers  organized  under  the  leadership  of  a Buddhist 
priest.  His  contemporary,  Ogishi  (Wang  Hsi-chih),  first  established 
the  splendid  spacing  of  written  characters  in  manuscripts,  and  the  free 
thickening  and  thinning  of  the  strokes,  which  renders  him  the  “ Father 
of  Chinese  handwriting,”  and  came  later  to  its  fruition  with  the  perfect 


38  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

style  of  the  Tang  dynasty.  The  new  opportunity  of  painting,  too, 
had  been  seized  a little  earlier  by  So  Fukko,  who  had  utilized  the 
freer  brush  stroke  to  delineate  dragons  floating  in  clouds  of  softer  tone. 
A contemporary  of  Toemmei  and  Ogishi,  Kogaishi  (Ku  K’ai-chih),  had 
gone  further  in  trying  to  make  the  lines  executed  by  the  brush  a 
rhythmic  outline  for  poetically  conceived  figures.  He  is  thus  the 
father  of  pure  Chinese  figure  painting.*  We  know  that  he  painted  the 
first  portrait  of  the  Upasaka  Yuima,  the  prototype  of  the  lay  Buddhist 
philosopher  who  was  fast  taking  the  place  in  this  So  of  the  Confucian 
Mandarin.  All  later  portraits  of  Yuima,  who  is  traditionally  a Hindu 
metaphysician  originally  opposed  to  Sakyamuni,  but  converted  by  the 
latter’s  disciple  Avanda,  are  developments  from  the  thought  of 
Kogaishi’s.  It  may  be  that  some  original  or  copy  sufficiently  like  the 
lost  Kogaishi  original  may  yet  be  lurking  in  the  archives  of  some  rustic 
Chinese  noble  ; but  all  those  which  in  Japan  lay  claim  to  being  such 
bear  evidence  of  later  inspiration.  But  in  the  Kinseki  So  we  find 
two  figures  which  had  been  cut  on  stone  from  drawings  by  Kogaishi, 
and  which  probably  give  a fair  idea  of  his  delineation,  but  not  of  his 
toning  in  ink  and  colour.  What  we  are  to  look  for  in  Kogaishi’s 
pen  force  is  made  clear  by  the  statement  of  later  critics  that  Godoshi 
really  founded  his  stupendous  line  upon  the  key  afforded  by  the  So 
master. 

The  short-lived  Sei  (Ch‘i)  dynasty  (479-502),  which  succeeded 
the  So  (Sung),  only  carried  these  movements  further.  The  great 

landscape  poet,  Shareiun,  following  Toemmei,  gives  us  the  metrical 
praise  of  wild  mountain  forms,  like  a veritable  Chinese  Wordsworth, 
introduces  the  formal  stanza  of  lines  of  seven  characters  that  come 
to  perfection  in  Tang,  and  originates  the  word  for  “landscape,” 
which  afterwards  becomes  classic  in  both  China  and  Japan,  namely 
“ sansui  ” ; that  is,  mountain  and  water , assuming  that  in  a perfect 
landscape  painting  or  poem  there  must  occur  both  the  upheaval 
of  form  and  the  contrast,  or  softening,  of  it  by  alluvial  motion. 
Here,  too,  Buddhist  painting  practically  originates  in  an  effort  to 
substitute  tinted  drawings  of  altar-pieces  for  the  statuesque  originals. 
These  originals  were  often  coloured  when  not  of  bronze,  and  the 

* Editor’s  Note. — The  painting  by  Kogaishi  in  the  British  Museum  is  now 
recognised  as  undoubtedly  genuine.  There  is  said  to  be  another  in  the  great 
collection  of  Fuan  Tang,  in  China. 


CHINESE  BUDDHIST  ART 


39 

new  pictorial  art  could  well  represent  the  heavy  statue  on  a scroll  of 
silk,  capable  of  easy  transportation.  The  lines  for  such  work  would 
rather  be  hair  lines  representing  the  contours  of  sculpture  than  forceful 
delineations  of  the  thickened  brush — a pictorial  style  which  we  may 
suppose  to  have  been  imported,  too,  with  Indian  drawings.  In  this 
way  it  may  well  be  that  the  beginnings  of  strong  line  work  with 
Kogaishiin  So  were  partly  obscured  by  more  delicate  colour  decora- 
tions of  Buddhist  painting,  until  revived  by  Godoshi  (Wu  Tao-tzu) 
in  the  8th  century.  An  example  of  such  early  Buddhist  painting, 
which  follows  the  lines  of  statuary  and  delicate  carving  in  halos,  is 
shown  in  this  book. 

But  the  real  culmination  of  this  romantic  Southern  illumination  did 
not  appear  till  the  Rio  (Liang)  dynasty  in  502,  and  especially  the  long 
reign  of  Butei  (Wu-ti),  its  founder,  who  had  been  the  chief  general 
of  the  waning  Sei  ; and  who,  the  namesake  of  the  Han  Emperor 
celebrated  for  opening  intercourse  with  Western  Asia  six  centuries 
before,  is  the  first  great  picturesque  figure  on  the  Chinese  throne  since 
that  famed  Han  (Kan)  reign.  Butei,  denounced  by  the  later  Confucian 
analysts  as  a superstitious  bigot,  is  one  of  those  great,  generous- 
minded  monarchs  who,  full  of  hope  and  genius,  fall  into  misfortune 
through  their  lack  of  worldly  wisdom.  At  first  he  was  a staunch 
advocate  of  Taoism,  giving,  indeed,  to  all  late  Chinese  literature  that 
flavour  of  enthusiasm  over  hermit  life  and  the  mysterious  power 
attainable  through  mountain  freedom  which  to-day  is  best  preserved 
in  the  romanticism  of  the  Japanese  soul.  But  early  in  his  reign 
the  twenty-eighth  Buddhist  patriarch,  Daruma,  came  to  Western  China 
from  India,  and  Butei  invited  him  to  his  Court,  where  he  became 
his  chief  patron  and  student,  affording  him  perfect  seclusion  in  a 
cave  temple  among  the  mountains.  It  was  this  same  Daruma  who 
amid  these  picturesque  scenes  developed  the  thought  and  discipline 
of  a new  Buddhist  sect,  the  Dhyan  or  Zen,  which,  however,  did 
not  bear  its  full  fruition  of  influence  upon  literature  and  art  until 
the  Sung  dynasty.  Butei  (Wu-ti)  has  never  been  forgiven  by 
later  Mandarins  because,  a few  years  later,  he  went  the  extreme 
length  of  dedicating  himself,  though  still  an  Emperor,  as  full 
Buddhist  priest  in  the  temple  of  Dotaiji.*  In  546  he  went  about  his 
kingdom  preaching  Buddha  in  person,  like  an  itinerant  monk.  In 
* Dotaiji  is  one  of  five  temples  built  by  the  Emperor  Butei. 


40  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

this  way  his  dynasty  weakened,  and  was  soon  succeeded  by  the 
short-lived  Chu. 

The  development  of  landscape  poetry  and  of  Buddhist  painting 
under  Liang  was  enormous  ; but  most  of  the  latter  is  lost  in  all 

but  name.  It  is  possible  that  the  famous  landscape  painting  in 

oil  upon  leather  that  decorates  the  Chinese  biwa  or  lute  in  the 
Japanese  treasury  at  Nara,  dates  from  this  time;  but  the  Tartar 
nature  of  the  scenery  and  costume,  in  spite  of  the  elephant,  would 
lead  us  to  ascribe  it,  if  so  early  at  all,  to  a Northern  contemporary 
artist.  Traces  of  Buddhist  Liang  painting  are  met  with,  however; 
the  considerably  defaced  Amidaiji  Mandarin  of  Nara-Ken  probably 
belonging  to  this  age. 

But  the  bulk  of  the  knowledge  which  we  have  of  the  Buddhist  art 
of  Rio  (Liang)  and  Chin  (Ch’en),  of  their  Northern  contemporary, 
and  of  the  following  Sui  dymasty  (589-620),  which  united  North 
and  South,  after  two  centuries  of  separation,  into  a provisional 

Empire,  is  derived  from  the  remains  of  sculpture  rather  than  of 

painting.  Pictorial  art  still  remained,  to  the  second  century  of 

Tang,  an  inferior  and  derivative  one.  The  greatest  glories  of  far- 

Eastern  sculpture  were  still  to  create  ; and  here  we  must  give  a 

brief  account  of  their  tentative  forms. 

The  statues  of  this  whole  separated  period — 5th  and  6th 

centuries — are  divisible  into  two  great  forms,  as  they  derive  their 
nature  from  Northern  Tartar  or  from  Southern  Chinese  influences. 
The  Northern  school  is  more  clearly  related  to  the  lingering  traces 
of  Han  and  to  the  early  Himalayan  Buddhist  forms  that  had  first 
penetrated  China  by  the  Northern  route.  Here  the  rhythmic 

curvature  and  the  attenuated  forms,  partly  based  upon  Persian  and 
Baktrian  art,  which  we  studied  under  Han  in  the  last  chapter, 
find  new  opportunity  to  expand  in  the  richer  Buddhist  iconography. 
The  rhythmic  lines  of  decoration,  first  shown  in  Mesopotamian  ornament, 
and  afterward  in  such  Ceylonese  as  the  “ moonstones,”  now  enter 
into  the  lotos  and  flame  halos  of  delicate  bronzes,  often  in  low 
relief.  The  figures  in  these  reliefs,  sometimes  to  be  studied  from 
stone  copies,  are  generally,  to  the  North,  much  attenuated,  long, 
thin,  and  graceful,  not  unlike  the  Greekish  figures  found  in  relief 
upon  Baktrian  coins.  The  earliest  Chinese  Himalayan  bronzes, 
though  ruder,  had  this  tendency  to  slimness  and  height.  These 


Bronze  Figures  on  a Priest’s  Staff-Head 


CHINESE  BUDDHIST  ART 


4i 

two  features,  attenuation  and  decorative  curvature,  distinguish  the 

finest  North  Chinese  sculpture  of  the  6th  century. 

But  in  the  South  we  have  a different  movement,  which  perhaps  is 
to  be  regarded  as  double.  On  the  one  side,  more  graceful 

Buddhas  of  a South  Indian  type,  with  concentric  lines  of  clinging 
drapery,  persist  down  to  the  Tang ; but,  more  important,  there  is 

a movement,  particularly  located  in  the  Eastern  provinces  of  the 

South — called  Go — to  utilize  for  purposes  of  Buddhist  sculpture 
the  indigenous  plastic  genius  which  had  created  the  unglazed  pottery, 
the  bronze  drums,  and  the  clay  and  bronze  animals,  such  as  the  frogs. 
This  plastic  genius  of  the  South,  long  lying  dormant  and  con- 
fined to  secular  decoration,  now  suddenly  expanded  in  the  new  field 
of  Buddhist  creation.  The  bronze  Buddhas  of  this  school,  like  the 
Han  and  post-Han  animals,  are  heavy  and  severe  in  type,  square 
in  their  main  shapes — square  heads,  square  crowns,  square  bodies 
to  which  the  flying  draperies  closely  cling — the  heads,  hands  and  feet 
too  large  for  the  bodies  ; the  draperies  opening  in  little  shell-shaped 
folds,  the  features  hard  and  sharp,  with  projecting  angular  nose — not 
unlike  what  the  heads  in  the  Han  stone  silhouettes  suggest.  We 
can  feel  that  this  is  a more  primitive  art  than  the  Northern,  with 
not  the  faintest  suggestion  of  Greco-Baktrian  grace  in  it,  and  hardly 
more  than  a trace  of  Indian  suavity.  It  is  not  specifically  Pacific 
either,  although  there  remains  a chance  that  what  1 have  spoken  of 
as  the  Southern  prehistoric  school  of  unglazed  clay  modelling  may 
be  remotely  related  to  Pacific.  The  type  of  such  Buddhas  and 
Bodhistatwas,  for  the  two  are  not  greatly  differentiated,  is  the  gilt 
bronze  statuette  still  at  Horiuji.  It  comes  like  a being  from  a 
new  Buddhist  world. 

We  have  many  reasons  to  believe  that  a considerable  intercourse 
had  grown  up  between  the  Eastern  Chinese  of  Go  and  the  early 
Japanese,  as  far  back  as  the  fifth  century  at  least.  Hence  came  by  the 
evident  sea-route  the  knowledge  of  Chinese  writing  and  classical 
literature,  and  the  first  hints  of  Buddhism.  The  Japanese  still  call 
their  earliest  pronunciation  of  Chinese  characters — preserved  by  their 
syllabury — “ the  Go  sound.”  There  must  have  been  immigration  to 
Japan  from  Go,  for  we  have  such  traditions  as  that  a Chinese 
Buddhist  sculptor  of  the  Go  School  came  over  to  Japan  about  the 
year  500,  and  became  naturalized  in  Yamato  under  the  family  name 

VOL.  1.  f 


42  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

Tori.  We  shall  notice  the  work  of  the  descendants  of  this  man  in 
the  next  chapter. 

A most  interesting  merging  of  these  several  Northern  and  Southern 
schools  of  art,  and  of  the  social  tendencies  to  which  they  belonged,  was 
achieved  in  the  year  589  by  the  foundation  of  the  first  solid  Imperial 
dynasty  since  the  fall  of  Han,  350  years  before.  This  Sui  (Zui)  dynasty, 
passionately  devoted  to  Buddhism,  proved  to  be  short-lived,  serving  as 
a mere  introduction  to  the  great  Tang  (To)  dynasty,  as  the  Tsin  had 
done  for  the  Han  800  years  earlier.  For  purposes  of  the  history  of 
culture  we  may  take  the  Sui  and  the  earliest  years  of  Han  as  if 
they  formed  a single  movement.  The  characteristics  of  this  move- 
ment are  clearly  involved  in  a fertile  union  of  so  many  rich  diverging 
tendencies. 

For  a moment  the  lordly  Confucians  of  the  North,  rejoicing  in  the 
re-achieved  national  unity,  joined  hands  with  their  Buddhist  and  Taoist 
brothers  from  the  South,  mingling  tendencies  to  literary  and  art 
impulse  which  had  diverged  or  grown  up  under  widely  differing  con- 
ditions. The  whole  rich  past  of  Chinese  experience  could  be  brought 
under  a single  view,  and  creation  could  be  attempted  in  a new  and 
freer  form  that  should  transcend  all  the  other  forms,  while  incorporating 
their  material.  This  is  the  central  reason  for  that  extraordinary  flowing 
of  the  Chinese  genius  in  the  early  Tang  dynasty.  We  shall  follow  it 
only  in  its  very  first  steps,  up  say  to  about  640  a.d.,  and  again  only 
so  far  as  it  affects  Buddhist  sculpture. 

It  is  fairly  clear  just  how  the  bronze  types  were  enriched  by  a 
conjunction  of  the  two  main  tendencies,  although  for  a time,  as  in  the 
early  Corean  work,  we  notice  a good  deal  of  oscillation  between  the 
two  poles,  and  some  ineffective  effort.  In  general  we  may  point  to  a 
reconciliation  between  the  two  main  aesthetic  features  of  North  and 
South — the  tall  slim  grace  and  exquisite  curvature  of  the  former,  and 
the  heavy  and  solid  sobriety  of  plastic  form  in  the  latter.  The  strong 
bronze  modelling  of  the  Tori  type,  mentioned  above,  now  became  used 
to  execute  more  rounded,  tall  and  human  figures,  of  perfected  contour. 
Such  bronze  statuettes  as  the  Buddha  of  Healing,  Yakushi  catching  up 
his  long  robes  in  his  left  hand,  probably  belong  to  this  new  movement. 
So  does  the  larger  seated  figure  formerly  belonging  to  M.  S.  Bing,  of 
Paris,  with  the  beautiful  plates  and  the  base  of  angels  in  low  relief 
seated  on  lotos  thrones  and  playing  on  musical  instruments.  These 


The  "Five  Kokuzo.”  At  Toji,  Kioto 


CHINESE  BUDDHIST  ART 


43 


latter  figures  have  a combination  of  grace  and  sweetness  in  conception, 
and  of  a certain  rude  naivete  in  style,  that  reminds  us  of  the  early 
work  of  Donatello.  A still  more  perfect  example  is  the  little  bronze 
Kwannon  of  Contemplation,  owned  by  the  Fine  Arts  Academy  in  Kioto. 
This  was  found  by  one  of  my  Japanese  colleagues  and  myself  during 
one  of  our  early  explorations,  and  purchased  by  us  as  a nucleus 
for  treasures  which  we  hoped  that  a museum  attached  to  the  coming 
school  would  eventually  collect.  This  has  perfect  suavity  of  contour 
combined  with  restraint,  as  naive  as  an  Egyptian  bronze,  yet  human  as 
archaic  Greek,  using  the  fold  system  of  the  bronze  drapery  in  the  Go 
School  as  the  starting-point  of  wonderfully  rich  and  unsymmetrical  line 
relations.  But  one  of  the  finest  groups  of  this  period  (from  580  to 
640  a.d.)  are  the  hard,  dark  wooden  statues,  more  than  half  of  the 
size  of  life,  of  the  so-called  “ 5 Kokuzo,’’  now  owned  by  the  temple  of 
Toji  in  Southern  Kioto.  These  retain  all  the  quality  and  feeling  of 
bronze  ; the  splendid  naive  animals,  peacock,  horse,  etc.,  on  which  the 
figures  sit,  recalling  the  early  Southern  animal  sculptures  in  clay  and 
metal.  The  figures  here  show  that  projection  of  the  face  line  in  profile 
over  the  line  of  the  depressed  chest,  and  nearly  in  line  with  the 
projecting  abdomen,  which  belongs  to  most  all  the  work  of  this  day 
( 600  a.d.)  in  China,  Corea,  and  Japan.  It  is  possible  that  this 
characteristic  contour  implies  the  mystical  depression  of  the  diaphragm 
and  the  withholding  of  inspiration — -a  feature  entirely  changed  in  later 
work.  Here  too  the  lengthening  of  the  lobes  of  the  ears  is  shown  to 
be  due  to  the  insertion  of  heavy  cylindrical  ornaments  enlarged  at  each 
end.  This  feature  is  found  in  other  Chinese  statues  of  this  date,  as 
in  the  Chin  or  Dzin  Bisjamon  of  Seiroji,  near  Kioto.  Here  we  have 
the  very  type  of  a North  Chinese  warrior,  with  oblique  rolling  eyes, 
but  of  a tall  slender  figure  clothed  in  armour,  utterly  opposed  to  the 
dumpy  Chinese  warriors  of  modern  art. 

That  we  should  make  a break  at  this  point  is  due  to  the  facts — first, 
that  Corean  and  Japanese  art  have  already  started  under  influences 
derived  from  North,  South,  and  the  Sui  union  ; so  that  we  should  study 
these  important  branches  in  connection  with  the  parent  stem  ; and  the 
fact  that  Chinese  art  itself  is  about  to  take  on  several  new  features 
with  the  rising  Tang,  notably  the  modifications  of  the  Greco-Buddhist 
School.  Before  we  come  to  consider  that  powerful  solvent,  we  must 
make  a full  inventory  of  those  naive  but  charming  forms  of  Far- 


44  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

Eastern  Buddhist  art  that  centre  about  the  illumination  of  Sui.  In 
Japan  especially  we  shall  find  records  of  this  art  far  richer  and  more 
splendid  than  any  which  have  yet  been  discovered  by  us  in  China.  But 
the  Japanese  branch  grew  partly  from  Corean  transplanting,  so  that  we 
must  first  consider  briefly  the  art  of  the  Peninsula. 


Ij/JJflOH  TA  8aOD83H'l  HHT  -lO  JIAT3AI 


DETAIL  OF  THE  FRESCOES  AT  HORIUJI 


Chapter  IV. 


EARLY  COREAN  AND  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART. 
CHINESE  INFLUENCE.  BRONZE  SCULPTURE. 

6th  and  jth  Centuries  a.d. 

CHINA  is,  in  fact,  what  she  names  herself,  “ The  Middle  King- 
dom.” She  is  like  a great  central  tower  encircled  with  powerful 
buttresses  of  races,  partly  akin  to  her  in  blood,  partly  tributary, 
but  all  feeling  the  weight  of  her  great  ideals.  Her  neighbours  on  the 
west  and  south — Thibetans,  Burmese,  Malays  of  Siam  and  Annam — we 
do  not  specially  consider  in  this  monograph,  what  is  strongest  in  their 
early  art  being  more  related  to  Indian  than  Mongolian.  But  on  the 
north  and  north-east  China  is  fringed  with  a line  of  states  and  peoples, 
often  hostile,  sometimes  servile,  but  of  a blood  and  thought  closely 
akin  to  her  own.  These,  too,  have  all  been  submerged  by  very  similar 
waves  of  Northern  Buddhism  ; and  they  have  imported  from  the 
common  centre  Taoist  and  Confucian  principles  in  varying  proportions. 

The  Hunnish,  Scythian  and  Mongolian  hordes  to  the  north  have 
seldom  entered  sufficiently  into  the  pale  of  civilization  to  produce  even 
a branch  art,  except  when,  for  short  periods,  they  have  put  themselves 
in  possession  of  the  Imperial  throne.  They  have  little  in  common 
with  what  we  have  called  the  Pacific  affiliations  of  the  primitive 
Chinese.  But  for  the  tribes  on  the  Amoor  river — to  a less  extent  the 
Manchus — for  the  Coreans,  and  especially  for  the  Japanese,  what  is 
primitive  and  what  is  fine  in  Chinese  life  and  art  have  had  a vital 
meaning,  so  that  we  may  regard  their  several,  and  often  robust, 
civilizations  as  almost  integral  parts  of  the  central  movement.  The 
most  original  and  the  most  independent  of  all  these  surrounding  states 
has  been,  of  course,  the  Japanese.  The  civilization  of  this  complex 
island  race  has  often  proved  itself,  and  is  proving  itself  again  to-day, 
to  be  for  incisive  idea  and  flexibility  of  spirit — less  a subordinate  or 


46  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

tributary  than  an  independent  leader  in  the  whole  group.  No  doubt 
it  can  be  made  the  object  of  a separate  study  ; and  yet,  especially  for 
the  purposes  of  Art,  there  is  sound  value  in  regarding  its  work  as  a 
variation,  though  a very  unruly  one,  upon  the  Chinese  norm. 

Closer  to  China  than  is  Japan,  closer  in  spirit  if  not  in  race,  because 
closer  in  communication,  lies  the  peninsula  of  Corea,  originally  a wealthy, 
prosperous,  and  progressive  country,  though  now  so  feeble.  Corea 
has  only  in  part,  and  then  for  very  short  periods,  been  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  Chinese  empire.  At  other  periods  she  has 
been  dominated,  and  now  seems  finally  to  be  dominated,  by  the  Japanese. 
But  in  the  early  days  of  her  civilization,  from  the  4th  to  the  7 th 
centuries  of  our  era,  she  betrayed  so  much  of  independent  vigour 
and  genius  as  to  make  her  art,  though  only  for  a short  illumination, 
a special  and  important  centre  of  creation.  This  happened,  too,  at  a 
time  when  Japan,  still  in  the  grasp  of  semi-barbarism,  was  prepared  to 
take  her  first  great  step  out  into  the  light.  That  the  neighbouring 
states  of  Corea,  only  a few  days’  sail  across  the  narrow  straits,  should 
have  become  the  special  tutor  of  Japan  at  the  time  of  Japan’s  most 
critical  youth,  is  a circumstance  so  fortunate  as  to  make  at  least  a brief- 
study  of  her  early  Art  a part  of  the  study  of  Chinese  and  Japanese. 
Corea,  in  some  real  sense,  was  a link  between  the  two  ; and  for  a 
moment,  about  the  year  600,  her  Art  flared  up  into  a splendour  which 
fairly  surpassed  the  achievements  of  her  two  chief  rivals. 

A still  juster  view  of  the  relationship  is  found,  if  we  consider  the 
juxtaposition  of  three  important  land  projections  into  the  China  Sea: 
the  peninsula  of  Corea  pointing  south-east,  the  Southern  islands  of 
Japan  sweeping  to  the  south-west,  and  the  Chinese  province  of 
Go  projecting  to  the  north  of  east.  Between  these  three  early  sea 
communication  had  been  easy,  and  both  Corea  and  Japan  had  been 
influenced  by  the  Art  of  Go  while  they  were  still  in  their  barbarous 
beginnings. 

Some  European  writers  have  appeared  to  hold  that  Corean  Art  in 
the  6th  century  must  have  been  influenced  quite  specially  by  the  Art 
of  Persia.  This  seems  to  be  due  to  their  assumption  that  Persian 
Art  in  the  6th  century  was  like  what  it  became  after  contact  with 
Mongolic  races  in  the  13th  century  and  onward.  The  Persian  Art 
of  this  day  was  Sassanian,  which  can  be  described  as  a mixture  of 
debased  Assyrian  with  debased  Roman.  We  have  already  seen  that 


The  Famous  Corean  Tamamushi  Shrine, 

at  Horiuji. 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  47 

the  early  Tang  dynasty  of  China  was  in  some  sort  of  communication 
with  the  Sassanian  coast.  Whatever  small  Persian  influence  entered 
Corea  and  Japan  at  this  time  was  Sassanian,  and  in  both  cases  probably 
derived  from  intercourse  with  Go,  where  commercial  relations  with  the 
ports  of  the  Indian  Ocean  were  already  centering.  The  likeness  of 
Corean,  Chinese  and  Japanese  Art  of  the  7th  century,  however,  to  the 
Persian  of  a later  day,  such  as  it  is,  is  much  more  likely  due  to  a 
counter-wave  of  influence,  which  carried  Eastern  motive  into  West 
Asia.  This  movement,  however,  and  in  fact  the  many  refluxes  ol 
influence  between  China,  India  and  Persia,  lie  beyond  our  scope. 

The  early  Buddhist  Art  of  Corea,  of  which  we  hardly  get  satisfactory 
glimpses  before  the  6th  century,  is  derived  from  a convergence  of  the 
same  two  streams  which,  as  we  have  seen,  were  to  enrich  the  central- 
ized Art  of  the  Dzin  dynasty  in  China;  that  is,  motives  from  both  North 
and  South.  By  overland  route  Corea  remained  in  close  touch  with  the 
Tartar  north,  with  its  Corean  trade  with  the  Mongols  and  Manchus 
and  Amoor  peoples,  and  thus  with  a more  primitive  slender  Buddhist 
type  that  ran  somewhat  to  effeminacy  of  curve  decoration.  By  mari- 
time route,  on  the  other  hand,  Corea  had  come  under  the  influence  of 
the  southern  Yangtse  provinces,  with  their  severe  sculpturesque  style 
and  their  skill  for  modelling  in  bronze.  In  a special  sense,  therefore, 
Corea  had  already  forestalled  the  Dzin  dynasty  in  its  ability  to  unite 
the  two  streams  of  south  and  north,  and  therefore  rose  upon  a sudden 
wave  of  artistic  power  which  in  China  itself  was  slower  in  gathering. 
Corean  Art,  however,  is  not  just  like  Dzin  ; partly  because  of  a new 
racial  genius,  partly  because  the  elements  were  to  be  combined  in 
different  proportions.  In  the  finest  Corean  work  the  Go  element 
probably  played  a more  decisive  part,  because  while  to  China  Go  was 
only  a part  of  the  south,  to  Corea  it  was  the  south  itself.  We  find, 
then,  in  Corean  6th  century  Art  a wider  range  of  forms  between  the 
two  extremes  of  excessive  attenuation  and  short  dumpy  figures  with 
large  heads. 

The  Corean  race  was  probably  in  prehistoric  times,  like  its  neighbours, 
strongly  affiliated  in  custom  with  the  Northern  Pacific  races  ; but  records 
of  this  early  day  are  mostly  lost.  As  in  Japan,  the  relics  dug  from 
primitive  graves  reveal  forms  related  to  the  Han  dynasty  of  China, 
under  which  Pacific  motive  is  already  submerged.  But  during  the  days 
of  Han  itself,  Corea  and  Japan,  quite  independent  of  the  Chinese 


48  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

monarch,  had  come  into  close  relations  through  an  invasion  of  Japan. 
If  we  could  see  the  rude  art  of  both  peoples  at  this  time  we  should 
probably  find  it  Pacific.  Corea  paid  tribute  to  Japan  for  many  years. 
Still  neither  of  those  peoples  could  have  been  regarded  as  highly 
civilized.  The  beginnings  of  Corean  culture,  which  preceded  Japanese, 
themselves  followed  the  dispersion  of  Chinese  peoples  due  to  the  long 
disturbance  of  the  civil  wars  of  the  3rd  century.  Feudal,  as  distinguished 
from  dynastic  Han,  held  out  until  263.  Go,  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant of  the  three  fighting  states,  submitted  to  Western  Shin,  thus  ending 
the  war  in  280.  Doubtless  whole  groups  of  colonizers  from  Han  and 
Go  had  sought  shelter  in  the  neutral  peninsula,  thus  bringing  the 
industries  of  civilization.  The  study  of  Chinese  writing  and  of  one  or 
two  Confucian  classics  came  even  as  far  as  Japan,  but  from  Corea,  in 
285.  Through  the  4th  century  these  disturbances  persisted,  and  little 
new  culture  could  have  been  gained.  But  with  the  division  between 
north  and  south  in  the  3rd,  the  new  Buddhist  Art,  sweeping  over 
China  in  two  separate  waves,  could  reunite  in  Corean  creative  efforts. 
It  is  from  this  date  that  we  consider  a high  Corean  Buddhist  culture 
to  begin  that  finally  displaces  the  relics  of  Han  Art.  But  perhaps 
nothing  that  we  have  to  show  of  Corean  Art  dates  from  before  the 
6th  century.  It  is  almost  entirely  derived  from  early  importations  into 
Japan.  No  attempt  will  here  be  made  to  distinguish  between  the  arts 
of  the  three  states  into  which  Corea  was  early  divided,  but  we  shall 
merely  say  that  the  state  called  Hiakusai,  the  nearest  both  to  Japan  and 
to  Go,  produced  most  of  the  pieces  which  have  been  preserved  to  Japan. 

One  of  the  earliest  Corean  Buddhist  types  which  we  possess  is  the 
very  attenuated  bronze  seated  Kwannon  of  contemplation,  a small  statuette. 
Its  extreme  thinness  is  almost  grotesque,  and  its  sharp  features  are  a 
mixture  of  Han  and  Himalayan.  On  the  other  hand,  the  draperies 
show  influence  of  the  Go  method.  A much  larger  figure  of  the  same 
subject  is  worked  up  in  wood  and  leather,  the  latter  substance  being 
used  for  the  connecting  bands  of  drapery.  By  far  the  tallest  of  the 
Corean  figures  is  the  standing  Kwannon  with  a vase,  still  on  the  great 
altar  of  the  Kondo  of  Horiuji.  The  head  is  small  and  well  formed, 
but  the  body  of  excessive  length,  some  fifteen  heads  perhaps.  The  close 
fitting  of  the  long  downward  drapery  lines,  with  almost  no  relief,  is 
essentially  Corean,  but  that  phase  of  it  which  may  be  Sassanian  is 
native.  A stiff  formal  curvature  is  given  to  the  openings  of  folds, 


Detail  of  Painting  of  Tamamushi  Shrine.  Painting  on  the  Doors  of  the 

Horiuji.  Tamamushi  Shrine. 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  49 

the  ends  of  mantles  curving  up  like  flower  petals.  For  primitive 
painting  and  early  writing  in  the  Go  style  we  have  the  illuminated 
Scripture  roll,  where  little  dumpy  Buddhas  are  surrounded  by  equally 
crude  disciples,  all  in  harsh  primitive  colours.  The  vague  suggestions 
of  rock  and  tree  are  in  a free  scratchy  style  that  recalls  the  early 
Chinese  landscape  in  oil  previously  mentioned. 

That  this  is  the  very  nature  of  Corean  landscape  is  also  shown 
by  the  paintings,  also  probably  in  thin  oil,  upon  the  so-called  Tamamushi 
Shrine.  But  elaborate  Corean  secular  painting  is  best  exemplified  in 
the  portrait  of  the  Japanese  Prince  Shotoku,  made  at  the  beginning 
of  the  7th  century  by  his  guest,  the  Corean  Prince  Asa. 

Two  great  monuments  of  sixth-century  Corean  art  still  remain.  The 
Tamamushi  Shrine,  already  mentioned,  is  a miniature  two-story  temple 
made  of  wood,  to  be  used  as  a kind  of  reliquary,  which  was  presented 
to  the  Japanese  Empress  about  590  a.d.,  and  which  still  stands  in 
perfect  preservation  upon  the  great  altar  at  Horiuji,  near  Nara.  The 
roof  is  finished  in  metal  in  the  form  of  tiling.  The  lower  story  is 
hardly  more  than  a great  box,  with  paintings  upon  its  four  sides. 
But  the  upper  story  opens  with  miniature  temple  doors,  which,  as  well 
as  the  solid  parts  of  the  walls,  are  elaborately  painted  on  the  exterior. 
The  paintings  below  are  much  defaced,  but  the  landscape  portions  show 
mountain  forms  that  are  probably  akin  to  the  Han  clay  reliefs  of  the 
Kunlung  range.  Long,  lanky  Buddhist  angels  fly  through  the  air,  amid 
bamboo  trees.  The  finest  paintings,  and  best  preserved,  are  the  two 
tall,  thin  Buddhist  deities  upon  the  doors,  which  show  a relationship 
to  the  thin  art  of  the  Northern  Wei.  Here  is  a hint  of  the  flying  draperies, 
which  sculpture  for  the  most  part  eschewed.  But  the  most  striking 
feature  about  this  shrine  is  the  elaborate  finish  of  all  the  corners  and 
pillars  and  transverse  beams  with  an  overlay  of  plates  of  perforated 
bronze,  which  were  probably  gilded,  the  patterns  of  the  perforation 
being  among  the  finest  specimens  of  the  Corean  power  over  abstract 
curvature.  These  repeating  patterns  are  full  of  unique  pictorial  tangles 
of  long,  cool  curves  of  restraint,  knotting  themselves  at  unexpected 
foci.  This  fine  Corean  curvature  we  must  explain  as  an  outcome  of  the 
Babylonian  of  Han,  re-inforced  by  the  Persio-lndian  of  Buddhist  originals, 
like  the  “moonstones,”  made  delicate  by  Tartar  Art  in  the  divided 
centuries,  and  strong  again  by  the  specially  decorative  genius  of  the 
Coreans. 


50  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

How  early  the  Coreans  began  their  plastic  work  in  glazed  pottery, 
for  which  they  later  became  so  famous,  is  still  a disputed  question. 
No  examples  of  it  are  found  in  the  Japanese  treasury  of  the  8th 
century.  Corean  temple  architecture  is  exemplified  by  the  oldest  buildings 
of  Horiuji  in  Japan,  which  we  shall  soon  describe  ; and  the  decorative 
arts  are  still  further  shown  in  the  hangings  and  carvings  upon  the 
Kondo  of  Horiuji.  Some  of  the  priests’  vestments,  showing  Sassanian 
designs  of  rosettes  essentially  Babylonian,  and  Persian  groups  of  hunting 
kings  and  lions  were  probably  brought  from  Hiakusai  at  this  time. 

But  the  greatest  perfect  monument  of  Corean  Art  that  has  come 
down  to  us,  without  which  we  could  only  conjecture  as  to  the  height 
reached  by  the  peninsula  creations,  is  the  great  standing  Buddha,  or 
possibly  Bodhisattwa,  of  the  Yumedono  pavilion  at  Horiuji.  This 
most  beautiful  statue,  a little  larger  than  life,  was  discovered  by  me 
and  a Japanese  colleague  in  the  summer  of  1884.  I had  credentials 
from  the  central  government  which  enabled  me  to  requisition  the  opening 
of  godowns  and  shrines.  The  central  space  of  the  octagonal  Yumedono 
was  occupied  by  a great  closed  shrine,  which  ascended  like  a pillar  towards 
the  apex.  The  priests  of  Horiuji  confessed  that  tradition  ascribed  the 
contents  of  the  shrine  to  Corean  work  of  the  days  of  Suiko,  but  that 
it  had  not  been  opened  for  more  than  two  hundred  years.  On  fire 
with  the  prospect  of  such  a unique  treasure,  we  urged  the  priests  to 
open  it  by  every  argument  at  our  command.  They  resisted  long, 
alleging  that  in  punishment  for  the  sacrilege  an  earthquake  might  well 
destroy  the  temple.  Finally  we  prevailed,  and  I shall  never  forget  our 
feelings  as  the  long  disused  key  rattled  in  the  rusty  lock.  Within  the 
shrine  appeared  a tall  mass  closely  wrapped  about  in  swathing  bands 
of  cotton  cloth,  upon  which  the  dust  of  ages  had  gathered.  It  was  no 
light  task  to  unwrap  the  contents,  some  500  yards  of  cloth  having  been 
used,  and  our  eyes  and  nostrils  were  in  danger  of  being  choked  with  the 
pungent  dust.  But  at  last  the  final  folds  of  the  covering  fell  away, 
and  this  marvellous  statue,  unique  in  the  world,  came  forth  to  human 
sight  for  the  first  time  in  centuries.  It  was  a little  taller  than  life,  but 
hollow  at  the  back,  carved  most  carefully  from  some  hard  wood  which 
had  been  covered  with  gilding,  now  stained  to  the  yellow-brown  of  bronze. 
The  head  was  ornamented  with  a wonderful  crown  of  Corean  openwork 
gilt  bronze,  from  which  hung  long  streamers  of  the  same  material  set 
with  jewels. 


The  Corean  Standing  Kwannon  with  a Vase.  The  very  attenuated  Bronze  seated 

Still  on  the  great  altar  of  the  Kondo  of  Horiuji.  Kwannon  of  Contemplation. 

Front  and  profile  views.  At  Horiuji. 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  51 

But  it  was  the  aesthetic  wonders  of  this  work  that  attracted  us  most. 
From  the  front  the  figure  is  not  quite  so  noble,  but  seen  in  profile 
it  seemed  to  rise  to  the  height  of  archaic  Greek  art.  The  long  lines 
of  drapery,  sweeping  at  the  two  sides  from  shoulders  to  feet,  were 
unbroken  in  single  quiet  curves  approximating  straight  lines,  giving 
great  height  and  dignity  to  the  figure.  The  chest  was  depressed,  the 
abdomen  slightly  protruding,  the  action  of  the  hands,  holding  between 
them  a jewel  or  casket  of  medicine,  rendered  with  vigorous  modelling. 
But  the  finest  feature  was  the  profile  view  of  the  head,  with  its  sharp 
Han  nose,  its  straight  clear  forehead,  and  its  rather  large — almost  negroid 
— lips,  on  which  a quiet  mysterious  smile  played,  not  unlike  Da  Vinci’s 
Mona  Lisa’s.  Recalling  the  archaic  stiffness  of  Egyptian  Art  at  its 
finest,  it  appeared  still  finer  in  the  sharpness  and  individuality  of  the 
cutting.  In  slimness  it  was  like  a Gothic  statue  from  Amiens,  but  far 
more  peaceful  and  unified  in  its  single  system  of  lines.  Its  arrangement 
of  draperies  seemed  to  be  based  upon  the  bronze  statuette  type  of  Go, 
but  suddenly  expanded  to  unexpected  beauty  by  the  addition  of  such 
slender  proportions.  We  saw  at  once  that  it  was  the  supreme  masterpiece 
of  Corean  creation,  and  must  have  proved  a most  powerful  model  to 
the  artists  of  Suiko,  especially  to  Shotoku ; but  all  that  we  have  to 
speak  of  later. 

The  one  additional  feature  which  here  merits  the  highest  praise  is 
the  wonderful  flower-like  tangle  of  the  curved  lines  in  the  open-work 
crown  which  twine  about  the  focus  of  a crescent  moon.  Whatever  the 
promise  of  decorative  beauty  in  low  relief  or  perforated  plates  already 
approached  by  Han  mirrors,  or  Wei  groups,  or  the  Corean  scroll  work 
upon  Tamamushi,  all  were  far  surpassed  by  the  richness  and  aesthetic 
unity  of  this  splendid  crown.  It  must  ever  remain  a chief  monument 
of  the  temporary  supremacy  of  Corean  Art  at  the  end  of  the  sixth 
century. 

This  must  end  our  special  account  of  Corean  Art,  which  we  intro- 
duce here  only  because  it  forms  the  fitting  and  necessary  preface  to 
the  study  of  early  Japanese  Buddhistic  art.  If  the  Go  influence  came 
directly  into  Japan  with  the  Tori  family  and  others,  it  recoiled  again 
in  a second  more  fluent  wave  and  mingled  with  other  fertile  germs 
from  the  shores  of  Corea.  So  many  were  the  types  that  came  pouring 
into  Japan  from  all  parts  of  Asia,  India,  North  China,  Go  and  Corea, 
that  at  first  the  Japanese  sculptors  were  almost  bewildered.  The 


5 2 EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

variety  of  choice,  however,  brought  with  it  freedom  ; and  certainly 
among  all  the  most  delicate  and  aesthetic  models  were  those  which  little 
Corea  furnished. 

******** 

In  entering  upon  the  study  of  the  total  Art  of  Japan  we  have  a 
subject  which  might  well  be  detached  for  a separate  monograph.  And 
yet  we  deliberately  renounce  the  privilege  of  that  more  obvious  unity 
for  the  difficult  task  of  describing  the  larger  unity  into  which  the 
creations  ot  all  East  Asian  peoples  were  really  swept.  It  may  seem 
presumptuous  for  one  who  is  neither  a scholar  nor  a sociologist  to 
group  cultures  which  no  scholar  yet  understands  in  their  separation  ; 
and  yet  just  because  art  work  furnishes  such  a large  amount  of 
evidence,  impressive  even  where  it  lacks  explanatory  record,  it  is  most 
important  to  weigh  the  unique  testimony  of  these  aesthetic  documents. 

Japan  ! What  romantic  thoughts  and  memories  arise  at  the  name  ! 
Set  uniquely  along  the  coming  paths  of  traffic  between  East  and  West, 
endowed  by  temperament  to  become  the  interpreter  of  East  to  West 
and  of  West  to  East,  we  have  here  an  illuminated  corner  of  history’s 
scroll,  a flash  of  human  genius  at  highest  tension,  which  in  our 
records  only  the  sensitively  organized  Greek,  and  that  for  only  a few 
centuries,  ever  reached.  The  land  itself — a fitting  casket  for  the  soul — 
is  as  broken  into  islands,  peaks  and  promontories  as  the  Greek  Archi- 
pelago, but  swathed  with  a far  richer  garment  of  semi-tropical  foliage. 
The  charm  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  is  all  here  without  their  excessive 
enervation  ; for  along  her  second  unique  line  of  geographical  setting, 
Japan,  washed  on  opposite  sides  by  currents  from  the  Equator  and  the 
Pole,  declares  also  kinship  to  that  bright  North  with  its  mysterious 
races  who  still  seem  to  retain  the  keys  of  Pacific  Art. 

It  would  be  folly  here  to  attempt  even  a succinct  view  of  Japanese 
history  or  culture,  or  to  enter  into  those  deep  studies  of  Shinto  motive 
and  family  cult  which  Lafcadio  Hearn  has  illuminated.  I shall  have  to 
assume  that  the  reader  already  knows  much  of  this,  and  confine  myself 
to  those  additional  bits  of  information  which  throw  direct  light  upon 
the  path  of  Art. 

Japanese  civilized  Art  probably  begins  at  the  end  of  the  6th  century 
with  the  almost  simultaneous  introduction  of  Buddhism  from  Go,  from 
Dzin,  and  from  Hiakusai.  And  yet  there  is  never  a beginning  to  a 
national  art;  pursue  it  as  far  back  as  we  may  to  some  primitive  guiding 


Portrait  of  Shotoku-Taisiii 
and  his  two  Children. 
By  the  Corean  Prince  Asa. 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  53 

impulse,  beyond  that  we  still  find  traces  of  indigenous  power.  The  long 
interval  between  the  3rd  and  the  6th  century  was  for  Japan  a period  of 
slow  acquisition,  of  semi-civilization,  of  the  dim  dawning  of  industry  and 
letters — a period  whose  almost  prehistoric  art  is  known  to  us  only  by 
the  recent  exploration  of  rude  stone-cut  tombs.  But  still  beyond  that 
stretches  a far  vaguer  world  of  unknown  derivation,  which  has  left 
almost  savage  traces  in  the  primitive  shell-heaps,  and  which  must  have 
had  close  affiliation  with  the  Ainos  of  the  north  and  the  Miaotse  of 
Go  on  the  south. 

The  Japanese  people,  though  of  extraordinarily  complex  origin,  have 
been  welded  by  time  into  an  almost  homogeneous  race.  And  yet  we 
can  trace  in  their  art  signs  of  successive  immigrations,  much  as  Dr. 
Schliemann  traces  the  nine  superimposed  ages  of  Ilium.  At  the  bottom, 
or  near  it,  lie  the  broken  shards  of  unglazed  pottery  from  the  primitive 
shell-heaps.  Above  this,  perhaps,  and  connecting  it  with  the  Han 
period,  are  various  relics  of  the  Pacific  Age,  conventional  designs  upon 
bronze  ornaments,  comma-shaped  jewels  of  hard  stone  which  were  once 
strung  into  necklaces  like  bear’s  claws,  and  the  first  hint  of  masks 
which,  even  among  their  later  Shinto  derivations,  show  close  analogies 
with  both  the  south — New  Guinea  and  the  Philippines,  and  the  north- 
east— Alaska  and  Mexico.  In  some  cases  this  analogy  amounts  to 
identity. 

But  perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  of  this  early  art  is  found 
in  a comparison  of  the  architecture  of  the  primitive  Ise  shrines  with 
Filippino  huts  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Aino  villages  of  Yezo  on  the 
other.  In  a view  of  the  one-storied  Aino  thatched  houses  with  their 
narrow  streets  we  probably  have  a correct  glimpse  of  a Japanese  “ city  ” 
of,  say,  about  the  time  of  Christ,  among  which  the  dwelling  of  the  chief 
or  “ emperor  ” was  a mere  enlargement  of  the  type  upon  a raised  plat- 
form much  in  the  Ise  style.  Aino  or  Kumaso  or  Yebisu  settlements 
remained  common  all  over  Japan  until  the  7th  century,  and  lingered  in 
Northern  Hondo  even  down  to  the  12th.  Many  Japanese  geographical 
names  are  derived  from  this  primitive  source.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
in  the  2nd  year  b.c.  that  an  imperial  decree  abolished  the  immolation 
of  living  human  beings  at  Court  funerals,  clay  figures  being  substituted. 
And  it  was  not  till  468  a.d.  that  even  the  emperor’s  “palace”  enjoyed 
the  addition  of  a second  story. 

The  first  great  semi-civilised  age,  the  dawn  of  civilisation  as  opposed 


54  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

to  this  primitive  barbarism,  extends  from  the  3rd  century  to  the  6th, 
and  is  conterminous  with  the  slow  dispersion  of  Han  Art  and  blood 
eastward  into  Corea  and  over  the  Yellow  Sea.  Yet  even  this  pre- 
Buddhistic  Japan  retains  Pacific  forms  in  its  ornament,  mixed  with  some 
Han-like  patterns  derived  from  Corea  and  Go.  The  building  of  military 
and  industrial  roads  began  in  250  ; weavers  were  sent  as  tribute  from 
Corea  in  283  ; a finer  breed  of  horse  was  received  the  following  year  ; 
a Corean  Professor  of  Chinese  classics  introduced  the  written  characters 
in  285  ; Chinese  came  from  Han  in  289;  Corean  physicians  came  in 
414;  mulberries  were  planted  in  457;  an  imperial  commission  to  Go 
returned  in  462  ; Go  sends  special  Chinese  weavers  in  470  ; carpenters 
and  masons  are  ordered  from  Corea  in  493  ; a special  embassy  from 
the  Buddhist  Emperor  Butei  of  Liang  arrives  in  522  ; but  the  decisive 
step  that  marks  the  limit  of  this  acquisitive  age  was  taken  when  a 
Corean  prince  sent  over  to  the  Japanese  Emperor  Kimmei  in  552  a 
partial  set  of  Buddhist  scripture  and  images  presumably  bronze. 

The  chief  source  of  our  knowledge  of  the  art  of  this  transition 
period  is  the  grave  tumuli  of  Yamato  and  elsewhere,  from  which  modern 
archaeology  has  unearthed  the  objects  buried  with  kings,  heroes  and 
statesmen.  These  tombs  are  narrow  chambers  lined  with  large  faced 
stone  blocks,  over  which  a large  mound  of  earth  was  heaped.  In  the 
centre  of  the  chamber  stands  a massive  stone  coffin,  with  an  enormously 
heavy  board  cover  in  a single  piece.  From  within  such  capacious 
receptacles  have  been  disinterred  the  human  bones,  armour,  swords, 
jewels,  vessels,  mirrors  and  clay  figures  of  men  and  horses  belonging 
to  this  interesting  day.  The  unglazed  clay  work  is  essentially  like 
Southern  Chinese,  with  its  oven-pots  surmounted  with  communal 
service,  and  with  horses  and  other  animals  not  unlike  in  shape  the 
Han  pottery  derived  from  Southern  sources.  This  pottery  is  only  a 
refinement  upon  the  savage  fragments  found  in  the  primitive  shell 
heaps,  only  that  was  more  blue  in  tone,  whereas  this  tends  toward  cream- 
yellow.  The  human  figures  are  rude,  mostly  like  those  of  wood  and 
stone  found  throughout  Pacific  lands,  hardly  inferior  to  the  best  of 
Mexico  and  Peru,  and  at  their  best  rising  to  a vigour  of  action,  as 
in  the  clay  bowmen,  which  foreshadows  the  civilized  Buddhist  art  of 
the  seventh  and  eight  centuries. 

The  metal  work  is  bronze  and  iron,  showing  a mixture  of  at  least 
two  influences  ; one  akin  to  the  work  of  North-Eastern  Asiatic  tribes 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  55 

and  essentially  Pacific  in  ornament,  the  other  essentially  Han.  The 
Corean  derived  element  is  probably  itself  already  a mixture  of  these 
two.  The  sword  blades  are  straight  for  thrusting,  and  quite  unlike  the 
later  curved  sword  of  Japan.  Armour  is  made  of  a few  thin  plates  of 
steel  sewn  or  riveted  together.  Casques  are  simple  pointed  domes 
tightly  fitting.  Bronze  mirrors  are  clearly  Han  in  type,  the  simple  star 
and  circle  ornament  relieved  on  the  back,  sometimes  accompanied  by 
rusty  Han  inscriptions  also  in  relief.  An  immense  amount  of  bead 
work  is  found,  mostly  in  carved  shell  and  stone,  among  which  the 
comma-shaped  magatama,  often  of  a clear  green  stone,  plays  a powerful 
part.  In  short,  it  is  all  the  arts  of  a crude  people  rising  upon  the 
circumference  of  civilization  through  importations  from  the  centre,  and 
not  yet  sufficient  master  of  itself  or  of  technique  to  invent  indigenous 
forms. 


Upon  this  simple  island  people,  with  its  patriarchal  organization, 
its  village  groups,  its  crude  domestic  industries,  and  its  primitive  Shinto 
Shamanism,  descended  rapidly  towards  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  the 
full  splendour  and  force  of  continental  civilization,  with  its  imperial 
institutes,  its  rich  city  life,  its  imaginative  literature,  and  especially  with 
its  deeper  moral  questioning,  religious  theories,  and  vast  views  of 
spiritual  hierarchy  in  the  world  of  Buddhist  gods.  Buddhism  crept 
in  slowly,  and  with  some  preliminary  storms,  between  the  middle  and 
the  end  of  the  century,  the  noble  Soga  family  becoming  its  strongest 
patron.  But  in  593,  on  the  sudden  death  of  the  Emperor  Sujun,  his 
widow  ascended  the  throne  as  the  Empress  Suiko,  who  thereafter 
enjoyed  an  uninterrupted  reign  of  36  years,  dying  at  the  ripe  age  of 
75,  a reign  so  fraught  with  wonderful  changes  that  we  must  speak  of 
this  first  illumination  of  Japanese  culture  as  we  do  of  the  reigns  of 
Elizabeth  and  Victoria,  and  call  it  the  age  of  Suiko.  Now  the  husband 
of  Suiko  had,  as  a younger  man,  taken  part,  as  had  also  his  son, 
Shotoku,  in  the  first  Buddhist  nobles’  war  that  had  been  declared  against 
the  new  religion  on  purist  Shinto  grounds  by  the  rebel  Moriya.  On 
coming  to  the  throne,  after  substantial  victory,  Sujun  had  registered 
his  intention  to  take  the  new  religion  out  of  private  aristocratic 
patronage,  and  make  it  the  imperial  faith,  in  short  a State  religion,  as 
it  was  already  in  Corea.  This  vow  of  her  dead  husband  the  great 


56  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

Empress  Suiko  made  it  her  long  life  work  to  carry  into  effect,  more 
than  seconded  as  she  was  by  the  Prince  Imperial,  a man  of  such  extra- 
ordinary mind  that  he  takes  his  place  among  the  great  creative  sages 
of  Eastern  Asia.  He  has  sometimes  been  called  the  “ Constantine  or 
Buddhism”  for  Japan.  And,  though  he  never  ascended  the  throne, 
dying  some  years  before  his  mother,  this  Prince  Shotoku  was  evidently 
the  core  of  all  reforms.  His  friend,  the  King  of  Hiakusai,  delighted 
at  the  new  move  in  Japan,  sent  over  his  son,  Prince  Asa,  in  597,  who 
then  painted  the  famous  portrait  of  Shotoku  already  alluded  to  ; and  we 
may  presume  that  it  was  at  this  time  that  the  Tamamushi  Shrine,  which 
we  have  elaborately  described,  was  presented  to  the  Empress  Suiko. 
In  603  and  604,  Shotoku  himself  composed  and  promulgated  a new 
constitution,  which  divided  the  government  into  graded  offices  with 
appropriate  rules  and  costumes.  Not  content  with  this,  the  Empress 
sent,  in  606,  a student  of  the  noble  class  to  study  constitutional  and 
court  law  in  Dzin,  the  newly  reunited  Chinese  Empire.  Besides  his 
report,  the  Coreans  were  zealous  in  sending  Dzin  books  to  Yamato. 
A history  of  Japan  had  been  ordered  in  620  ; but  Shotoku  died  in  the 
following  year. 

But  the  greatest  work  of  Suiko  and  Shotoku  was  undoubtedly  the 
founding  of  Buddhism  and  of  Buddhist  Art  upon  solid  and  splendid 
foundations.  The  first  school  of  Japanese  Art  proper  is  the  Suiko 
school.  In  the  second  year  of  the  Empress’s  reign,  594,  an  imperial 
decree  ordered  the  building  of  Buddhist  temples,  and  especially  en- 
trusting the  work  to  the  young  prince.  Shotoku  now  bent  all  his 
energies  to  import  from  Corea,  scholars,  priests,  architects,  wood 
carvers,  bronze  founders,  clay  modellers,  masons,  gilders,  tile  makers 
and  weavers  ; in  short,  all  skilled  artisans  whose  work  was  involved 
in  creating  and  installing  a great  Buddhist  temple  such  as  were  already 
known  in  the  peninsula  kingdom.  Not  content  with  this,  and  realizing 
how  utterly  the  success  of  such  complicated  and  novel  work  would 
depend  upon  his  personal  inspection,  he  deliberately  studied  crafts- 
manship in  these  several  arts,  placed  himself  under  the  most  learned 
and  devout  of  the  Corean  Buddhist  scholars,  and  in  due  time  allowed 
himself  to  take  holy  orders  under  the  name  Shotoku,  somewhat 
like  but  with  more  serious  purpose  than  the  Chinese  Emperor  Butei 
of  Liang  a century  before.  Full  of  modesty,  zeal,  and  piety,  Shotoku 
gave  lectures,  interpreting  the  new  religion,  not  only  to  his  relatives 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  57 

in  the  Court,  but  to  the  people,  who,  dazed  with  the  splendour  and 
soul-stimulus  of  the  new  culture,  thronged  earnestly  to  hear  him  in 
the  temples. 

But  Shotoku  never  lost  sight  of  his  central  purpose  to  erect  a 
great  dominating  monastery  in  grounds  not  far  removed  from  the 
imperial  residence.  The  capital  of  Japan,  which  had  been  removed 
by  successive  monarchs  from  point  to  point  of  Yamato  provinces  ever 
since  the  days  of  its  conqueror,  Jimmu  Tenno,  was  now  located  on 
the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Tatsuta,  a little  station  on  the  Nara- 
Ozaka  railway,  where  the  picturesque  winding  Tatsuta  river,  famous 
in  even  the  earliest  Japanese  poetry  for  its  fringe  of  maples  emerging 
from  the  slopes  of  Mount  Kaminabi,  debouches  upon  the  gravelly 
northern  slopes  of  the  great  Yamato  plain.  Here,  upon  the  last 
curvetting  of  the  foothills,  between  whose  grim  and  scarred  domes 
ran  up  little  bays  of  level  green  that  might  support  the  monastery' 
with  abundant  harvest,  Shotoku  decided  to  erect  his  master  temple. 
A labour  of  disappointing  years  it  was  to  accumulate  rare  craftsmen  and 
expensive  materials,  mostly  by  importation  ; but  Shotoku  in  person 
superintended  the  levelling  of  terraces,  the  cutting  and  hauling  of  the 
great  cedar  log  pillars  from  the  mountain  slopes,  the  kilns  and  the 
forges  and  the  thousand  temporary  workshops,  saw  rise  slowly  into  the 
air  architectural  piles  of  storied  pavilion  and  pagoda  that  dwarfed  to 
toadstools  the  wildest  architectural  fancies  of  any  West  Pacific 
islanders  ; until  at  last  the  dream  of  his  father  Sujun  stood  completed 
before  him,  the  great  monastery  temple  Horiuji,  built  in  arcades  with 
tower  gates  about  an  enormous  sanded  court,  and  centred  with  blue- 
tiled  palaces  that  rose  up  the  mountain  slopes  terrace  behind  terrace. 
Here  now  was  the  enormous  structure  dedicated  in  presence  of  prelates 
and  ambassadors  from  Hiakusai  and  Dzin,  and  here  the  regular  work 
of  a great  cathedral  church  was  inaugurated  in  616.  Many  branch 
temples,  dependent  upon  it,  were  built  during  the  next  twenty  years  in 
neighbouring  parts  of  the  province,  especially  on  sites  where  later  was 
to  stand  the  metropolitan  city  of  Nara. 

The  early  history  of  Horiuji  is  obscure,  and  it  is  possible  to  infer 
that  a disastrous  fire  destroyed  a large  part,  but  not  all,  of  the  original 
structures,  in  680.  But  there  is  fair  reason  to  believe  that  three 
of  the  buildings  at  present  existing  date  from  before  the  fire,  and 
back  to  the  age  of  Suiko — namely,  the  front  gate  guarded  by  the 

vol.  1.  G 


58  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

“ Two  Kings,”  the  great  pagoda  in  the  fore-court,  and  the  massive 
Golden  Hall  (Kondo)  containing  the  central  altar.  Otherwise  we  must 
suppose  that  the  Suiko  hangings  above  this  altar  were  faithfully  copied 
after  the  fire  in  a style  that  had  already  grown  archaic — an  improbable 
supposition.  Though  the  pagoda  is  somewhat  heavy  and  flaring  in 
proportions,  in  the  Kondo  we  have  one  of  the  noblest  examples  of 
Japanese  or  of  early  Chinese  architecture.  Though  the  material  be 
but  wood,  we  must  remember  that  in  this  earthquake  country  good 
wood  is  the  most  permanent  material,  proved,  as  in  this  case,  to  out- 
last many  a stone  erection  of  mediaeval  Europe.  Already  fine  pro- 
portion is  in  it,  and  a wonderful  and  unusual  relation  between  base 
and  pitch  of  roof.  If  the  front  gate  contains,  as  Mr.  Cram  seems  to 
think,  evidence  of  Greco-Buddhist  structure,  that  would  be  a reason 
for  dating  it  from  after  the  conflagration,  for  there  is  no  evidence  of 
any  specific  Greek  influence  in  the  art  of  the  Suiko  age. 

In  this  temple  of  Horiuji  were  placed  many  of  the  great  treasures 
of  Corean  art  that  had  already,  as  models,  found  their  way  into 
Japan.  Here,  to-day,  on  the  great  altar  of  the  Kondo,  a solid  block 
of  masonry,  some  80  feet  in  length  by  30  feet  in  width,  and  raised  five 
feet  above  the  floor,  stands  the  Tamamushi  shrine,  and  several  other 
shrines  of  inferior  workmanship,  the  excessively  tall  wooden  Kwannon 
already  described,  and  other  smaller  pieces.  When  the  Yumedono 
Kwannon  was  removed  to  its  present  position  we  do  not  know,  but  it 
would  probably  have  stood  originally  on  some  part  of  the  great 
altar  in  the  Kondo.  The  present  contents  of  the  many  buildings  of 
Horiuji  are  made  up  of  a motley  aggregation  of  paintings,  statues, 
and  sacred  utensils,  designed  or  collected  at  many  different  ages,  and 
of  workmanship  ranging  from  Indian  and  Persian  through  Chinese 
and  Corean  to  Japanese,  sacred  treasures  which  have  been  brought 
to  this  central  monastery  as  from  age  to  age  their  original  possessions 
crumbled  away  or  were  burned  through  carelessness  or  in  wars.  This 
process  has  made  of  Horiuji  a natural  and  national  museum,  especially 
of  those  forms  of  art  which  belonged  to  the  worship  of  its  antique 
Sanson  sect,  a form  of  Buddhism  which  has  now  no  other  representa- 
tive than  Horiuji  in  the  Japanese  islands.  As  Sanson  temple  after 
Sanson  temple  decayed,  the  mother,  Horiuji,  became  the  national 
custodian  of  their  treasures. 

But  of  this  enormous  mass  of  material  I intend  to  speak  now,  at 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  59 

first,  only  of  those  portions  which  belong  specifically  to  the  Suiko  age, 
leaving  the  others  to  subsequent  chapters.  As  one  stands  upon 
the  altar  of  Kondo,  he  gets  to-day  a strange,  weird  feeling  of 
Greekish  frescoes,  Norman  hangings,  Gothic  statues,  and  Egyptian 
bronzes,  so  varied  is  the  jumble  of  forms  of  a hundred  sizes.  The 
store-house,  too,  might  be  ransacked  for  pieces  that  would  over-fill  the 
altar  ; and  it  must  be  remembered  that  of  the  hundred  or  more 
ancient  bronze  statuettes  which  formerly  were  treasured  here,  the 
larger  number,  though  not  the  largest  pieces,  were  taken  at  the 
restoration  for  the  Imperial  archives. 

Picking  out  now  the  Suiko  specimens  in  something  like  their 
historic  order,  we  ought  first  to  refer  back  to  their  ancestor  in  that 
stiff,  square,  gilt-bronze  statuette  which  we  have  already  taken  as  the 
Go  type  of  the  fifth  century.  This  was  still  kept  at  Horiuji,  in  the 

godown,  at  the  end  of  the  19th  century.  It  will  be  remembered 

that  a Chinese  sculptor  of  Go,  possibly  the  author  of  this  very  piece, 
had  been  naturalised,  with  other  emigrants,  as  a Japanese  citizen  in 
the  early  part  of  the  sixth  century,  taking  the  Japanese  family  name, 
Tori.  That  he  could  have  practised  the  art  of  Buddhist  sculpture  in 
Japan  in  those  early  years  we  have  no  evidence.  But  we  do  have 
reason  to  believe  that  his  son,  who  must  have  kept  up  through  the 
interval  the  knowledge  and  exercise  of  his  plastic  art,  found  oppor- 
tunity, when  Buddhism  was  coming  into  his  father’s  adopted  country 
at  the  end  of  the  century,  to  return  to  the  original  home  of  inspira- 
tion, and  give  us  perhaps  the  first  bronze  statuette  that  we  can 

identify  as  made  in  Japan.  This  bears  an  inscription  which,  ascribing 

it  to  the  second  Tori,  seems  to  date  it  as  of  the  year  589,  in  the 
reign  of  Sujun.  It  is  thin,  being  forced  up  out  of  a single  sheet  of 
metal,  but  of  a sombre  dignity  and  primitive  proportion  which  recalls 
the  solidity  of  Go.  But  to  this  has  clearly  been  superadded  some- 
thing of  the  Corean  delicacy  of  curvature,  a greater  slimness  of  figure, 
a finer  symmetrical  sweep  of  the  mantles  at  the  side.  It  is  most 
interesting  to  compare  this  with,  on  the  one  hand,  the  Go  gilt 
Kwannon,  and  on  the  other  with  the  far  larger  figure  of  the 
Yumedono.  It  clearly  partakes  of  the  nature  of  both,  and  establishes 
a sort  of  canon  for  the  Suiko  style. 

Of  those  of  the  many  existing  statuettes  which  are  probably  not  of 
Indian,  Chinese,  or  Corean  workmanship,  there  are  several  others  which 

G 2 


60  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

exhibit  the  unity  of  this  early  Suiko  type  ; but  the  group  which  finally 
establishes  it  as  a school,  and  which  is  the  most  elaborate  exemplification 
of  it,  is  the  bronze  altar-piece  which  was  modelled  and  cast,  under 
Shotoku’s  supervision,  by  the  third  generation  of  the  Tori  family,  the 
grandson  of  the  original  immigrant,  as  the  holy  of  holies  for  the  Kondo 
of  Horiuji,  There  it  still  stands,  enthroned,  near  the  centre  of  the 
south  side  of  the  great  railed  altar.  It  is  an  elaborate  group,  richer 
than  any  Chinese  or  Corean  piece  which  to  my  knowledge  we  now 
possess  ; being  a complete  trinity  of  statues,  thin  but  detached,  com- 
posed against  a magnificent  bronze  halo-screen.  The  central  figure 
sits  in  attitude  of  a Buddha  ; the  side  figures,  Bodhisattwas,  stand  upon 
lotos  seed-pods.  These  side  figures  have  separate  flame  halos  detached 
from  the  general  screen-halo,  which  contains  as  its  central  feature  the 
circular  halo  of  the  Buddha’s  head.  The  side  figures  have  the  large 
square  head  and  stiff  proportions  of  the  Go  statuette,  but  with  a sweep 
of  draperies  which  relates  them  clearly  to  the  Yumedono  Corean.  The 
open-work  crown  of  the  latter  has  here  become  a solid  curved  plate, 
whose  height  gives  the  already  large  head  too  much  prominence.  This 
Buddha  must  be  taken,  in  lack  of  any  other  such  perfect  specimen, 
to  be  the  type  of  Suiko  bronze  Buddhas,  and  probably  not  far  from 
the  type  of  fifth-century  Go  Buddhas.  The  head,  though  uncrowned, 
is  far  too  heavy  and  square,  the  features  seeming  not  merely  Indian, 
but  almost  negro.  The  hands,  too,  are  large  and  clumsy.  But  in 
the  disposition  of  the  drapery,  in  spite  of  its  primitiveness,  we  have 
a pyramidal  line  system  that  approaches  grandeur.  The  simple  shawl- 
like outer  garment,  open  at  the  breast,  folds  on  the  arms,  and  then  flowing 
down  over  the  crossed  knees,  enshrouds  the  throne  below  in  a broad 
rich  set  of  curving  folds  that  reveals  a decorative  beauty  close  to  antique 
Greek.  It  is  a tremendous  tribute  to  the  genius  of  the  sculptor,  Tori 
Busshi,  that,  overlooking  the  awkwardness  of  the  human  forms,  we  are 
absorbed  in  the  architectural  splendours  of  the  group.  Not  only  do 
the  three  figures  build  up  into  a finely  flanked  pyramid,  but  their  unity 
and  beauty  are  enormously  enhanced  by  the  spacing  and  the  lines  of 
the  bronze  screen.  This  is  a large  flat  plate  of  bronze  elaborately 
ornamented  in  low  relief.  It  rises  in  the  form  of  two  concentric  arches 
the  inner  of  which  contains  within  lotos  tracery  the  main  halo  that 
centres  behind  the  Buddha’s  forehead.  The  outer  arch  holds  heavy 
clouded  forms  writhing  upward  like  smoke  and  flame,  among  which 


Ivondo  Altar  Trinity. 

By  Tori  Busshi,  at  Horiuji. 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  61 

sit  in  higher  relief  a group  of  small  Buddhas.  Between  all,  even  the 
minutest  parts  of  this  astonishing  work,  we  find  the  most  subtle  curve 
rhythm,  that  carries  out  into  original  creation  germs  of  line  feeling  already 
involved  in  Corean  Art.  Yet,  far  removed  from  the  over- warm  sphere 
of  Indian  sensuousness,  and  without  possible  contact  with  West  Asian 
forms,  it  takes  on  much  of  the  severity  and  dignity  of  archaic  Greek 
work.  It  strikes  a happy  compound  of  the  three  kindred  geniuses 
of  Go,  Corea,  and  Japan  ; and  as  the  initial  creative  work  of  the  new 
land,  it  augurs  wonderful  wealth  for  the  coming  art.  And  indeed  in 
the  element  of  architectural  beauty  in  sculpture  it  has  only  once  been 
surpassed  in  the  second  Trinity  with  a screen  described  at  the  end  of 
this  chapter. 

Nothing  like  a complete  enumeration  of  the  Suiko  pieces  known  to 
us  can  be  attempted.  Another  bronze  Buddha  in  fragmentary  condition 
stands  upon  the  same  altar.  But  a second  interesting  group  of  studies 
is  found  in  the  wooden  figures  which  chiefly  belong  to  two  temples, 
Horiuji,  and  the  Rokkakudo  of  Udzumasa  near  Kioto.  Closely  akin 
to  the  Bodhisattwa  of  the  bronze  Trinity  is  the  separate  wooden 
Kwannon,  holding  a vase  in  her  left  hand.  Here  we  find  the  flame 
halo,  the  large  head  with  heavy  features,  and  the  lotos  throne  of 
petals  that  bend  downward — all  characteristic  of  Suiko  Corean  work, 
but  there  is  an  attempt  to  model  naturally  the  exposed  upper  portion 
of  the  body.  In  the  two  gilded  Bodhisattwa  that  stand  on  the  Kondo 
altar,  we  have  a still  greater  pensive  sweetness,  the  heads  are  rounded, 
and  bound  with  a wreath  that  really  feels  half  Greek.  Of  an  entirely 
different  type,  being  almost  Aztec  in  feeling,  we  have  the  small  and 
earliest  Kwannon  of  eleven  heads,  cut  out  of  a hard  dark  mahogany- 
like wood  resembling  bronze.  This  is  most  elaborately  carved  and 
undercut  in  very  deep  relief ; evincing  probably  a phase  of  Chinese 
genius  rather  than  Corean  ; and  possibly  a Southern  phase  in  which 
Annamese  and  Himalyan  influences  combine  with  the  genius  of  Go. 
This  was  originally  the  central  secret  deity  of  the  Buddhist  auxiliary 
shrines  at  Tonomine  in  Yamato.  It  can  now  be  studied  in  the  art 
school  at  Tokio. 

Other  wooden  forms  are  the  portrait  statues  of  this  day,  of  which 
the  group  of  Shotoku  Taishi,  surrounded  by  his  young  children,  kept 
in  the  Taishiden  of  Horiuji,  where  the  spirit  of  the  prince-saint  is  still 
worshipped,  is  the  most  elaborate.  Here  we  find  a timidity  and  effemi- 


62  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

nacy  of  curvature  in  the  drapery,  which  the  artist  has  not  quite 
mastered.  The  faces  of  some  of  the  children,  awkward  and  even 
Kamskatkan  in  type,  recall  the  faces  of  the  crude  clay  figures  dug 
from  earlier  Yamato  tombs.  Other  statues  of  girls  and  children  retain 
in  original  paint  the  very  patterns  of  the  dress.  Perhaps  the  finest 
portrait  is  that  of  one  of  the  Sojos,  said  to  have  been  the  first  abbot 
of  Horiuji,  installed  under  the  auspices  of  the  prince-priest.  Here,  while 
we  find  Corean  traces  in  the  pleated  folds  at  the  bottom  of  his  robe  and 
in  the  curvature  of  wrinkles  upon  the  face,  in  strength  and  individuality 
it  is  only  a little  inferior  to  the  portraits  of  the  eighth  century. 

Still  another  form  of  wooden  Suiko  statue  is  the  militant  type  or 
altar  guardian,  the  group  of  four  statues  called  the  Shi  Ten  O,  or  Four 
Heavenly  (Deva)  Kings,  who  were  set  at  the  four  corners  of  the  great 
square  altars,  facing  outward.  Early  Chinese  painted  types  of  these  are 
shown  in  the  Amadaji  Mandara  ; and  in  the  Bisjamon  of  Seirioji  we 
have  the  slender  North  Chinese  Tartar  type  of  the  sixth  century.  But 
in  the  four  guardian  kings  of  the  Horiuji  altar,  nearly  life-size,  we  have 
the  only  remaining  specimens  of  the  pure  Suiko  type,  whose  prototype 
was  the  group  formerly  in  the  Kaidendo  of  Shodaiji,  near  Nara,  destroyed 
by  fire  in  the  early  part  of  the  19th  century.  The  peculiarities  of  this 
type  are  great.  The  faces  are  heavy,  square,  and  almost  negroid,  like 
the  Tori  bronzes.  The  bodies  are  chunky,  and  stand  evenly  straight 
upon  both  feet,  which  are  encased  in  a kind  of  moccasin.  Though 
carrying  spears,  these  spiritual  warriors  wear  no  armour,  unless  the  fairly 
tight-fitting  body- piece,  edged  upon  the  statue  in  openwork  metal,  can 
be  supposed  to  represent  a leathern  cuirass.  This  is  bound  tightly 
about  the  waist  by  a very  heavy  rope.  Over  the  upper  part  of  this,  and 
tied  loosely  over  the  shoulders,  is  a small  mantle  or  shawl,  knotted  over 
the  breast  in  closely  flat  ironed  lines,  and  giving  a strange  Egyptian  or 
Persian  feeling.  But  what  makes  the  Persian  feeling  still  stronger  is  that 
both  legs  are  encased  in  heavy  very  loose  trousers,  which  bag  about  the 
ankles,  where  a closely  ironed  ruffle  emerges  that  half  covers  the  feet. 
Twisting  ends  of  a girdle,  also  flat  as  if  closely  ironed,  fall  nearly  to 
the  feet  from  under  the  cuirass.  It  is  this  shawl,  these  trousers,  and 
the  element  of  ironed  ruffling  that  have  led  me  to  feel  that  this  type  may 
have  been  built  partly  out  of  Sassanian  elements.  But  the  strangest 
feature  of  all  is  the  heavily  carved  wooden  crouching  animals  upon 
which  these  figures  stand,  some  cow-shaped  but  with  human  hands, 


The  Chuguji  Kwannon.  By  Shotoku-Taishi. 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  63 

themselves  supported  upon  rock  forms  that  curve  like  Suiko  drapery. 
It  is  recorded  that  this  Horiuji  set  was  carved  by  two  Japanese;  but  it 
is  possible  that  the  original  Shodaiji  set  may  have  been  brought  from  the 
continent.  It  hardly  seems  possible  to  believe  this  the  costume  of  a 
Corean  warrior  ; it  certainly  is  not  Chinese  ; and  it  has  no  relation  to 
any  Greek  influence  such  as  might  be  exerted  from  Khotan.  The  type 
remains  a mystery;  but  at  present  we  call  it  provisionally  a Go  type 
with  Persian  features,  and  modified  in  details  by  Corea-Suiko  ornament. 

Suiko  pure  decoration  is  best  exemplified  by  the  baldachian  hangings 
above  the  main  altar  of  the  Kondo  at  Horiuji.  This,  too,  is  unlike  all 
else  in  the  Buddhist  art  of  any  known  race.  These  baldachians,  of  which 
there  are  several,  are  a kind  of  pointed  box  opening  downwards,  lined  with 
square,  rectangular,  and  triangular  panels,  many  of  which  show  traces  of 
stiff  painting  of  flowers  and  rosettes,  and  fringed  with  an  intertwisted  gold 
tasselling.  An  upper  flaring  cornice  is  covered  with  very  delicate  tracery 
in  openwork  bronze,  as  in  the  finishings  of  the  Tamamushi  shrine.  But 
the  whole  body  of  the  box,  under  the  cornice  and  above  it,  is  bossed  on 
the  exterior  by  rows  of  little  detached  wooden  angels  upon  open  brass- 
work  flower  thrones,  or  of  cockatoo  birds  in  flight.  Openwork  finials  flare 
at  the  corners.  The  barbaric  painting  in  reds,  blues,  greens,  and  cream 
whites  of  these  stiffly  spaced  members,  of  some  red  much  discoloured, 
makes  us  feel  for  all  the  world  as  if  we  were  looking  into  an  Egyptian 
tomb.  The  forms  of  the  angels  are  rounded  and  slim,  and  the  cockatoos 
curve  in  strong  line,  not  unlike  the  forms  upon  the  Chinese  Wei  relief  of 
the  sixth  century  figured  by  Dr.  Bushell. 

I have  reserved  for  the  last  the  greatest  masterpiece  of  Suiko  art,  a pure 
bit  of  spiritual  interpretation,  more  sculpturesque,  more  human  and  more 
divine  than  the  bronze  altar  Trinity — namely,  the  large  carving  from  dark 
bronze-like  wood  of  an  unornamented  Kwannon  in  contemplation,  now 
kept  in  the  little  nunnery  of  Chuguji,  in  the  rear  of  Horiuji.  This  follows 
the  attitude  already  shown  us  by  the  little  bronze  statuette  of  Liang  or 
Dzin  in  the  former  chapter.  The  body,  modelled  like  Egyptian,  with 
great  restrained  beauty,  is  nude  to  the  waist.  Even  the  hair  is  indicated 
only  as  a smooth  mass  slightly  relieved  from  the  skin.  The  drapery, 
falling  from  a girdle  at  the  waist,  heavily  envelops  the  limbs,  making  fine, 
archaic  Greek  transitions  of  curve  from  the  horizontal  to  the  vertical  leg-. 
The  drapery  that  surrounds  the  dome-like  throne  seems  to  be  another 
portion  of  the  same  mantle,  as  in  the  Buddha  of  the  altar  Trinity,  though 


64  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

its  lines  are  less  flamboyant.  But  the  great  beauty  of  this  statue,  in  which 
it  is  only  equalled  by  the  profile  of  the  Yumedono  Corean,  is  in  the  face, 
which  has  its  finest  effect  from  the  front.  It  is  the  face  of  a sweet,  loving 
spirit,  pathetic  and  tender,  with  eyes  closed  in  inner  contemplation.  The 
negroid  coarseness  of  the  Tori  faces  has  disappeared. 

The  impression  of  this  figure,  as  one  views  it  for  the  first  time,  is 
of  intense  holiness.  No  serious,  broad-minded  Christian  could  quite 
free  himself  from  the  impulse  to  bow  down  before  its  sweet  powerful 
smile.  With  all  its  primitive  coarseness  of  detail,  as  in  the  feet 
especially,  it  dominates  the  whole  room  like  an  actual  presence.  This 
finely  imaginative  work,  whose  genius  we  can  trace  from  the  suggestions 
of  preceding  models,  is  clearly  the  work  of  an  original  master  mind, 
one  capable  of  transcending  conventions,  or  rather  of  moulding  them 
to  express  a free  spiritual  conception.  This  is  why  we  more  than  give 
ear  to  the  Horiuji  tradition  that  the  work  came  from  the  hands  of 
Prince  Shotoku  himself.  His  was  certainly  a mind  capable  of  conceiving 
it  ; and  the  varied  elements  from  which  he  drew  suggestions  of  form, 
Chinese,  Corean  and  Japanese,  lay  ready  to  his  hand.  We  must  call 
it  the  first  great  creative  Japanese  work  of  art  in  the  matter  of  spiritual 
power,  as  the  Kondo  Trinity  is  the  first  in  the  matter  of  decorative  form. 


From  these  promising  beginnings  of  the  Suiko  age  we  find  the 
young  Japanese  art  advancing  through  the  successive  decades  of  the 
seventh  century  by  leaps  and  bounds.  The  next  Emperor,  Jomei  Tenno, 
who  ruled  from  629  to  641,  also  favoured  Buddhism,  and  enjoyed  the 
advice  of  a good  Minister,  Kamatori,  who  was  hailed  as  the  ancestor  of 
the  great  noble  family  of  Fujiwara,  in  a later  age.  His  contemporary 
portrait  has  come  down  to  our  day.  Meanwhile  the  Tang  dynasty  in 
China  had  succeeded  the  Dzin,  and  diplomatic  relations  were  opened 
up  with  it  by  Jomei.  In  the  next  somewhat  troubled  reign  of  the 
Emperor  Seimei,  with  interruptions  from  642  to  668,  Chinese  Court 
costumes,  rank,  and  receptions  of  courtiers  were  established  by  imperial 
decree.  Corea  was  partly  cut  off  from  Japan  through  invasion  from 
Tang;  and  thus,  in  some  sense,  Japan  was  left  for  the  moment  to 
her  own  artistic  resources.  These  were  a large  stock  ot  originals,  mostly 
Indian,  Chinese  and  Corean,  and  her  own  budding  genius.  The  art  of 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  65 

this  age  is  a concious  recasting  in  a long  series  of  trial  forms  of  the 
elements  involved  in  this  stock.  The  chief  advance  is  found  in  the 
series  of  bronze  statuettes  which  were  manufactured  for  altar  pieces  of 
the  many  Buddhist  temples  that  now  spread  all  over  Yamato. 

Hokkeiji  and  Horinji  were  sites  not  far  from  Horiuji  ; but  the  slopes 
of  Kasuga  mountain,  about  twelve  miles  to  the  east,  later  to  be  the 
eastern  suburb  of  the  Emperor  Shomu’s  capital  of  Nara,  were 
already  the  seats  of  several  flourishing  temples.  There  is  a per- 
sistent Nara  tradition  that  at  one  of  these,  called  Iwabuchi-dera, 
a special  school  of  bronze  statuette  modelling  and  casting  was 
instituted.  However  that  may  be,  we  can  trace  in  the  many 
existing  remains  a clear  and  fairly  single  artistic  effort  to  discard 
the  clumsier,  weaker,  and  more  external  features  of  the  primitive 
models,  and  to  aim  ever  at  a more  human  grace  and  spiritual  sweet- 
ness. If  we  were  to  place  before  our  eyes  a series  of  the  statuettes  of 
Bhodisattwa,  we  should  see  clearly  this  intentional  experiment  of 
proportion  and  modelling,  the  structural  elements  in  many  cases  re- 

maining unchanged.  The  draperies  become  more  simple  and  natural, 
the  peculiar  shell-like  Suiko  fold  being  soon  discarded.  So  graceful 
do  the  statues  quickly  become,  and  so  beautiful  the  faces,  that  it 
seems  as  if  a specific  Greek  archaic  influence  must  have  been  at 

work.  It  is  true  that  we  are  here  on  the  historic  verge  of  a Greek 

influence  coming  down  through  the  Chinese  of  Tang  ; but  this  is  an 
influence  not  at  all  of  archaic  Attic  work  but  of  a somewhat  late  and 
coarsened  Greco-Indian  proportion.  Besides  this,  Greco-Buddhist  in- 
fluence was  hardly  naturalized  in  China  until  after  the  middle  of  the 
century,  and  it  was  not  till  then  that  Japan,  under  Tenchi,  began 
a systematic  study  of  Tang  institutions.  We  must  rather  believe  that 
in  the  post-Suiko  series  of  small  bronzes  we  have  a Greek-like  beauty 
which  is  an  independent  discovery  of  the  Japanese  genius.  But  of 
course  one  cannot  dogmatically  deny  that  some  sporadic  intrusions 
from  Chinese  and  Corean  sources  may  have  been  superadded. 

I can  speak  here  in  detail  of  only  a few  of  the  more  striking 
members  of  this  series.  One  early  feature  is  a rounding  and  broaden- 
ing of  the  face,  which  is  a Dzin  or  early  Tang  trait,  as  opposed  to 
the  earlier  Go.  The  lines  of  mantles  and  jewelled  ornaments,  too, 
become  more  relieved — detached  something  in  the  style  of  the  wooden 
eleven-headed  Kwannon  before  mentioned. 


66  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

An  early  form,  only  slightly  removed  from  Suiko,  and  possibly 
one  that  adheres  to  Horiuji  traditions  rather  than  the  newer  experi- 
ments ot  Iwabuchi,  is  the  statuette  with  heavy  round  negroid  head, 
nude  to  the  waist,  but  with  mantle  caught  up  into  a large,  round, 

knot  at  the  waist. 

A much  larger  bronze,  nearly  three  feet  in  height,  is  the  figure 
of  Kwannon  kept  in  the  storehouse  at  Horiuji,  which  is  clearly  a 

deliberate  improvement  upon  the  Korean  lanky  Kwannon  upon  the 
Kondo  altar.  It  holds  a vase  in  its  half-raised  left  hand.  The 

crown  upon  the  head  so  protrudes  at  the  sides  as  to  give  the  effect 
ot  a flat  top.  But  the  body  is  charming  and  graceful  in  modelling, 
and  the  face  pleasant. 

The  most  beautiful  of  the  standing  Buddhas  in  this  statuette  series 
is  undoubtedly  the  small  figurine,  hardly  more  than  a foot  in  height, 
ot  the  Tathagata  of  Healing,  Yakushi  Niorai,  symbolical  of  Buddha 
as  the  great  soul  physician.  This  is  the  most  sacred  altar-piece  of 

the  Shin  Yakushiji  temple  in  Nara,  of  which  we  shall  speak  more 
fully  in  the  next  chapter.  It  is  beautifully  proportioned,  the  face 
round  and  sweet,  with  small  nose  and  delicate  mouth  ; the  hair,  like 
that  of  the  Chuguji  Kwannon,  being  only  a smooth  raised  surface. 
The  hands  and  feet,  too,  are  small.  But  the  most  interesting  feature 
of  all  is  the  drapery,  which  is  a beautiful  translation  into  bronze 
designing  of  the  cross  concentric  folds  of  the  Buddha’s  mantle,  as 
exemplified  in  the  colossal  stone  images  of  Ceylon  and  in  the  primi- 
tive Chinese  wooden  Buddha  now  at  Seirioji.  Here,  instead  of  the 
countless  little  crinkly  folds  of  the  Indian  gauze,  we  have  a few 
simple,  clear  folds,  whose  stiff  repetition  from  chest  to  ankle  gives 
the  figure  much  naive  dignity.  The  Suiko  folding  is  entirely  eschewed 
in  the  skirt.  Members  of  this  statuette  series  are  also  to  be  found 
in  wood,  generally  as  in  the  Suiko  “Aztec”  example  of  an  eleven- 
headed Kwannon. 

A decidedly  Greek  impression  is  given  us  by  the  upper  part  at 
least  of  the  most  delicately  modelled  Kwannon  among  the  Horiuji 
pieces.  Here  every  detail  of  costume  is  but  a refined  imitation  of 
another  Chinese  one  already  described  as  closer  to  the  Suiko  type.  The 
hands  and  feet  are  especially  beautiful.  The  finest  view  is  in  profile, 
where  the  beautiful  free  lock  of  hair  escaping  from  the  twist  at  the  top 
of  the  head,  combined  with  the  fillet  or  crown,  gives  to  the  head 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  67 

the  effect  of  a Mercury.  The  antique  Greek  effect  is  enhanced  by  the 
extreme  delicacy  and  beauty  of  the  features,  the  mouth  and  chin 
especially.  This  is  the  first  Japanese  profile  which  compares  in  beauty 
with  the  Corean  Yumedono  Kwannon  of  the  sixth  century.  But  to 
realize  the  full  beauty  of  the  head  and  face,  and  to  recognize  that, 
after  all,  it  is  not  Greek,  it  should  be  seen  enlarged  in  a two-thirds 
pose.  It  was  thus  that  I specially  photographed  it  in  1883.  The 
little  standing  Buddha  in  the  crown  is  a new  type  with  free  drapery. 
The  hair  is  beautifully  modelled  in  waves  flowing  back  from  the 
forehead.  The  curves  of  the  brows  run  unbroken  into  the  nose, 
as  in  all  finest  Japanese  Buddhist  bronzes.  The  mouth  is  the  most 
naturalistic  feature,  giving  us  the  most  delicately  curved  surfaces  in 
the  lips.  But  what  we  notice  here  especially  is  the  perfection  of 
casting  and  finish  in  all  the  surfaces,  shown  particularly  in  the  skin 
of  the  face,  where  it  appears  as  if  the  bronze  came  with  perfect 
satin  texture  from  the  mould,  requiring  no  after  finish  of  tool  or  file. 
This  quality  is  characteristic  of  the  very  finest  Chinese  and  Japanese 
bronzes,  which  are  now  to  come  to  our  notice,  and  is  probably 
obtained  by  first  making  a perfect  model  in  wax.  An  extreme  refine- 
ment in  such  delicacy  of  finish  will  be  shown  in  the  Tang  mirrors. 

Another  Bodhisattwa  statuette,  also  of  considerable  size  and  kept 
at  Horiuji,  gives  as  a whole,  though  perhaps  not  so  specially  in 
the  face,  the  feeling  of  the  archaic  Greek  Mercury  or  Athene.  The 
head  is  more  spherical  than  the  preceding ; the  raised  right  hand 
is  stronger.  The  feet,  the  skirt  on  the  bronze  pedestal,  the  upper 
half  of  whose  lotos  petals  open  upward,  are  like  the  Shin  Yakushiji 
Buddha.  What  is  here  most  beautiful  in  the  drapery  are  the  festoons 
over  the  shoulders  and  breast,  and  falling  from  the  waist  to  bind 
the  skirt  inward  at  the  knee.  It  is  the  double  curve  theme  of 
those  festoons  and  of  the  thin  crossing  statues  that  gives  this  statuette 
its  unique  beauty.  Taking  the  head,  raised  hand,  and  festooned 
breast  together,  we  could  hardly  avoid,  were  it  not  for  the  some- 
what thick  and  formal  neck,  the  impression  that  we  were  before  a 
Greek  bronze.  It  is  indeed  a beauty  parallel  to  the  Greek,  but 
one  to  which  a possible  Greek  element  may  have  remotely  entered 
only  through  the  roundabout  roads  of  Baktrian  influence  upon  Han, 
or  of  Greco-Persian  influence  upon  early  Indian  Buddhism.  The 
specific  Greco-Buddhist  influence  has  yet  to  appear. 


68  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

This  brings  us  down  to  the  age  of  the  next  great  Emperor,  Tenchi, 
whose  short  reign,  beginning  in  668,  was  celebrated  by  the  removal  of 
the  capital  to  Shiga,  near  the  present  Otsu,  on  Lake  Biwa.  The 
famous  Karasaki  pine,  covering  more  than  an  acre  of  ground,  is 
believed  to  be  the  last  relic  of  his  palace  gardens.  It  was  he  who 
determined  to  make  a more  serious  study  of  Chinese  institutions 
and  especially  of  Chinese  law,  for  which  purpose  he  dispatched  a 
special  mission  to  Tang.  The  Emperor  Temmei,  who  reigned  as  his 
successor  till  686,  carried  on  the  policy. 

It  must  have  been  in  one  of  their  two  reigns,  probably  the  earlier, 
that  the  supreme  masterpiece  of  this  rapidly  advancing  statuette  school 
was  executed  in  the  same  white  bronze  of  which  the  mirrors  were 
composed.  It  came  just  at  a moment  when  the  delicate  problems  in- 
volved were  about  to  be  overshadowed  by  new  powerful  impulses 
surging  in  from  Tang  with  Greco-Buddhist  art.  It  is  a perfect  product 
which  could  have  occurred  only  at  this  one  moment  in  the  history  of 
the  world,  reaching  the  highest  aesthetic  range  of  early  Buddhist  art 
among  any  race  from  India  to  the  Pacific.  It  is  possible  that  specially 
fine  sporadic  examples  from  Tang  may  have  helped  to  the  culmination, 
but  we  have  no  trace  of  them. 

The  new  piece  is  a second  elaborate  Trinity  with  a screen,  and 
seems  to  have  been  designed  with  conscious  reference  to  the  earlier 
one  by  Tori  Busshi,  as  a point  of  departure.  We  do  not  know  the 
name  of  the  designer  of  this,  but  he  is  the  next  greatest  artist  of 
Japan  after  Shotoku  Taishi,  and  one  of  the  greatest  bronze  artists  of 
the  whole  world. 

To  realise  what  enormous  artistic  gains  the  gap  of  some  sixty  years 
has  won  for  this  piece,  we  ought  to  compare  the  two  Trinities  in  a 
single  blow  of  the  eye.  We  should  find  that  the  stiff  vertical  lines  of 
the  Suiko  type  have  been  changed  into  more  graceful  and  laterally 
interflowing  rhythms,  and  that  every  delicacy  and  sweetness  of  type  in 
the  statuettes  reach  their  height  in  the  latter  piece.  It  is  like  passing 
from  Egyptian  to  Greek  art. 

The  figures  of  the  Trinity  are  placed  much  as  before,  only  the 
three  all  rest  upon  lotos  thrones  that  grow  with  twisted  stems  out  of  a 
horizontal  bronze  sea.  It  is  the  blessed  beings  realised  in  their  own 
garden  Paradise.  And  it  is  doubtless  a clearer  importation  from  the 
best  of  this  thought  of  Sukavhati,  the  heaven  of  Amita  Rha  or  the 


Bronze  Trinity,  with  Screen.  Horiuji,  Nara. 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  69 

Buddha  of  Boundless  Light,  that  is  embodied  in  this  piece.  The 
three  statues  are  fully  rounded,  detached,  and  finished  at  the  back. 
Between  the  Buddha  and  the  screen  a magnificent  openwork  halo  of 
bronze  lace  is  set  in  an  independent  plane.  The  screen,  which  rises 
into  pointed  waves  at  the  top,  and  is  flanked  with  panels  that  might 
fold  on  hinges,  is  modelled  in  three  distinct  planes  of  relief,  little 
Buddhas  at  the  top,  half-round  as  in  the  Tori  example,  blessed  figures 
of  angels,  much  flatter,  who  kneel  upon  lotos  thrones  in  the  back- 
ground, and  lotos  leaves  mixed  with  flying  mantles  from  those  angels 
that  form  a tracery  in  very  low  relief.  Once  more,  within  the 
interstices  of  this  elaborate  pattern,  and  into  the  smooth  surface 
of  the  screen,  are  incised  little  cloud  forms  descending  and  little 
groups  of  growing  flowers,  making  as  it  were  a sixth  plane  for  the 
whole  design. 

Between  this  large  number  of  elements  on  many  planes  it  might 
be  thought  that,  as  seen  from  the  front,  a certain  confusion  or  at  least 
inconsequence  would  reign.  But  the  truth  is  that  no  more  unified 
system  of  curves  was  ever  conceived,  even  on  a Greek  facade  or 
frieze.  Not  one  of  these  thousand  flowing  curves  that  is  not  in- 
finitely harmonious  with  all  the  others.  They  interplay  like  melodic 
phrases  in  music.  The  blending  of  strong  architectural  plan  in  the 
composition  with  naive  sweetness  in  the  separate  rhythms,  can  find  as 
analogue  in  Western  art  only  the  spirit  of  the  work  on  Ghiberti’s 
bronze  doors  in  the  Florentine  baptistery.  The  decorative  lines  are 
stronger  and  more  orderly  than  in  the  naive  reliefs  at  Perugio  and 
Rimini  of  Agostino  Duccio. 

The  central  Buddha  is  clearly  an  aesthetic  advance  upon  the 
standing  statuette  of  Shin  Yakushiji.  While  we  have  lines  of  drapery 
of  the  same  simple  forms,  their  parallel  cross  curves  are  now  caught 
up,  as  in  archaic  Greek,  into  converging  catenary  curves,  here  firmly 
tangent  to  the  almost  vertical  line  of  the  garment’s  edge  that  falls 
from  the  left  shoulder,  and  from  which  other  sets  of  radiating  curves 
enfold  the  left  arm.  The  disposition  of  this  drapery,  too,  over  the 
crossed  legs  enables  the  artist  to  convert  horizontal  curves  directly 
into  vertical,  thus  giving  a most  beautiful  variety.  But  perhaps 
supreme  mastery  by  the  rhythm  of  line  is  best  shown  by  the  mod- 
eller in  his  treatment  of  the  hands  and  the  break  of  the  drapery 
from  the  wrists.  The  hands  and  attitudes  of  the  fingers  are  so 


70  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

conceived  as  to  centre  into  their  strong  action  the  curve  vitality  of 
the  whole  complicated  design.  It  vibrates  to  the  very  tips  of  the 
fingers,  which  nod  as  naively  as  flower  petals  on  a stem.  These 
hands  too  are  thick  and  firm,  like  the  whole  body,  not  weak  and 
effeminate  as  in  some  of  the  Kwannon  statuettes.  It  is  noticeable  that 
the  webbing  between  the  fingers  that  appears  in  the  larger  statues 
of  a little  later  date,  is  here  used  not  only  with  structural  but  for 
aesthetic  value,  the  curves  of  these  webs  entering  magnificently  into 
the  contour.  This  artist  knew  to  the  minutest  degree  the  rights  of 
conventional  treatment  in  decorative  bronze  relief;  and  in  this  respect 
at  least  the  piece  becomes  the  world’s  masterpiece.  The  hair,  instead 
of  rising  into  the  ugly  convention  of  lumpy  curls,  as  in  the  Tori 
Trinity,  or  lying  in  a quite  smooth  layer  as  in  the  Shin  Yakushiji 
Buddha,  cuts  the  latter  into  a few  thinly  relieved  spiral  locks,  ap- 
parently a unique  convention  which  does  not  occur  again,  being 
apparently  displaced  by  Greco-Buddhist  forms. 

The  standing  Bodhisattwa  at  the  sides  are  of  a grace  and  sweet- 
ness transcending  all  the  Kwannon  statuettes.  There  is  the  slight 
sideways  swing  of  the  hip  noticed  in  the  last  wooden  eleven-headed 
Kwannon;  but  a perfect  subordination  of  relief  in  ornament  to  the 
decorative  value  of  the  figures  as  wholes,  to  which  the  swing  of  all 
the  broad  mantles  beautifully  contributes.  The  hands  here  are  not 
too  small  and  refined  as  in  the  statuettes,  but,  if  anything,  just  so 
much  too  large  as  to  act  as  perfect  accents  in  the  architecture  of 
the  total  group. 

In  the  low  relief  angels  of  the  screen  we  find  that,  studied  in 
detail,  they  only  exemplify  still  further  the  absolute  artistic  value  of 
this  work.  Never,  down  to  their  smallest  detail  of  drapery,  is  there 
a lack  of  invention  or  of  perfect  taste  in  subordinating  the  inessential 
and  the  merely  pretty  to  the  interpenetrating  idea.  These  figures  are 
like,  but  far  more  graceful  and  sweet  than  the  somewhat  similar 
bronze  angels  of  China  and  Dzin,  shown  in  the  last  chapter.  Some- 
how in  charm  they  seem  to  lie  between  Orcagna,  Donatello  and  della 
Robbia.  No  European,  however,  not  even  a Greek,  ever  conceived 
such  perfection  of  formal  line  and  surface  in  low  relief  as  is  shown 
in  these  lotos  forms,  and  the  angels’  mantles  seemingly  caught  upward 
into  the  intense  spiral  lines  of  some  great  spiritual  draft.  It  is  this 
prevailing  tension  of  the  screen  lines  toward  the  vertical  which  saves 


Detail  of  Screen  from  the  Bronze 
Trinity  at  Horiuji. 


EARLY  COREAN  and  JAPANESE  BUDDHIST  ART  71 

them  from  what  they  would  often  become  with  Europeans,  weak, 
insipid  decorative  flourishes. 

But  to  realise  what  is  the  true  scale  of  remove  here  from  decorative 
weakness,  rather,  what  is  its  supreme  vitality  and  power,  in  a formal 
aesthetic  of  which  elsewhere  Greek  art  is  the  typical  example,  we  must  refer 
to  the  detached  circular  halo,  which  I photographed  separately  in  1882. 
This  consists  of  a single  flat  disc,  which  has  not  only  been  perforated  in 
the  Corean  manner,  but  had  every  one  of  its  thin  surfaces  undercut,  so 
that  not  a single  member  of  this  narrow  scale  that  does  not  pulsate  with 
finely  modelled  surfaces  in  space  of  three  dimensions.  Though  the  execu- 
tion must  have  been  a triumph  of  bronze-lace  casting,  yet  the  vigorous 
plasticity  of  the  curves  suggests  rapid  paring  with  a knife,  the  method 
frankly  employed  in  carving  the  original  wax.  The  body  of  this  most 
beautiful  halo  in  the  world  consists  of  three  main  members  : — The  lotos 
centre,  the  rich  grill  interlude  of  fine  crossed  curves,  and  the  border  of 
arabesques.  The  lotos  centre  has  itself  a centre  of  the  circular  seed  pod, 
surrounded  by  sixteen  petals,  all  so  exquisitely  modelled  in  the  infinitesimal 
relief  as  to  appear  like  an  actual  flower.  The  brilliant  colour  of  this 
member  is  got  by  its  solidity  contrasted  with  the  openwork  beyond.  The 
grill,  in  its  fine  spacing,  gives  us  a grayer  colour  in  two  tones,  also  kept  in 
subordination  by  the  simplicity  of  its  forms.  But  upon  the  broad  circular 
band  of  the  border  the  artist’s  whole  wealth  of  purely  decorative  openwork 
curvature  has  been  lavished.  There  is  nothing  here  so  representative  as 
the  lotos  leaves  and  stems  in  the  screen  relief.  This  is  leaf  form,  but 
drawn  out  into  splendid  scrolls  and  bands,  like  the  finest  Classic  and 
Renaissance  arabesques.  Only  these  are  no  imitations  of  Classic  suggestion, 
but  a new  creation  along  parallel  lines.  What  the  volute  and  the  acanthus 
and  anthemion  are  to  Greek  ornament,  these  interplaying  organic  spirals, 
of  large  and  small  curvature,  crossing,  meeting,  intertwisting,  are  to 
Japanese.  It  is  a glorious  thing  to  know  that  some  creators  have  been 
able  to  do  this  thing  without  that  abject  subserviency  to  Greek  pattern 
which  Western  art  has  exhibited  for  two  thousand  years.  There  are  men 
who  can  create  with  the  same  naivete  and  beauty  as  the  Ionians.  And,  let 
it  be  noted,  too,  that  these  curves,  so  intricate,  are  the  farthest  removed 
in  all  art  from  the  insipidity  of  the  Renaissance  flourishes,  which  we 
sometimes  teach  as  a poisonous  miasma  in  our  art  schools.  These 
are  curves  of  extreme  tension,  as  of  substances  pulled  out  lengthwise 
with  a force  that  has  found  its  utmost  resistance,  lines  of  strain,  long, 


72  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

cool  curves  of  vital  springing,  that  bear  the  strength  of  their  intrinsic 
unity  in  their  rhythms. 

Perhaps  I have  given  too  much  space  to  this  exquisite  Trinity  ; but  it 
is,  so  far  as  I now  know,  the  unique  flower  of  the  early  East  Asian  stage  of 
Buddhist  art.  It  is  fortunate  that  it  could  bloom  before  more  powerful 
currents  from  without  and  within,  already  gathering,  could  tear  its  archaic 
elements  to  pieces.  It  is  in  these  momentarily  balanced  opportune  calms 
in  all  human  history  that  supreme  art  arises  ; and  this  is  true  of  Asia  as 
of  Europe.  How  utterly  then  must  Art  History  become  a record  of  the 
causes  that  have  produced  unique  individuals,  rather  than  non-chronological 
and  abstract  essays  upon  industrial  technique. 


Chapter  V. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  CHINA. 

7 th  and  8th  Centuries  A.D. 

IN  the  history  of  Chinese  art  we  have  already  sharply  marked  three 
periods  : — the  Pacific,  the  Mesopotamian,  and  the  early  Buddhist 
from  India.  We  have  seen  only  the  third  of  these  forms  falling 
within  the  limits  of  Corean  and  Japanese  civilization,  though  traces  or 
the  two  earlier  remain  in  the  barbaric  art  of  Japan.  And  we  have  noted 
as  the  aesthetic  culmination  of  this  total  complex  movement,  up  to  the 
second  half  of  the  seventh  century,  the  second  Japanese  bronze  Trinity 
with  a screen. 

We  have  now  to  look  at  what  is  properly  a fourth  wave  of  influence 
upon  Chinese  art,  the  so-called  Greco-Buddhist — a wave  that  was  long 
in  gathering  in  Western  Asia,  swift  and  brief  in  its  passage  across  China, 
and  somewhat  more  deliberate  in  its  breaking  and  dissipating  upon  the 
shores  of  Japan. 

It  seems  strange  at  first  sight  to  think  that  Greek  art  has  really 
conquered  a second  and  greater  continent  on  the  East,  as  it  has  manifestly 
dominated  Europe  on  the  West.  It  will  be  news  to  many  that  such 
a potent  factor  in  what  they  have  always  regarded  as  the  romantic 
art  of  Japan  should  be  that  very  classic  art  which  they  boast  as  its 
opposite.  So  potent  indeed  is  the  classic  spirit  that  in  time  it  has 
spread  to  the  bournes  of  the  ultimate  oceans,  and  in  fact  encircled  the 
earth.  A full  account  of  its  slow  passage  north-eastward  across  the 
continent  of  Asia  will,  some  day,  fill  a most  romantic  chapter  in  Art 
History. 

Many  immediate  doubts  rise  naturally  to  the  lips — If  Greek  art 
reached  Japan  by  way  of  China,  why  did  it  come  so  late  ? If  it  was  so 
potent  throughout  East  Asia  in  the  seventh  century,  why  should  its 
force  have  been  spent  so  early  as  the  eighth?  If  China  came  into 
VOL.  i.  h 


74  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

contact  with  Baktria  in  the  second  century  before  Christ,  why  was  it 
not  then  that  Greek  art  obtained  its  strongest  grip  over  her  ? Since 
Japanese  early  Buddhist  bronzes  offer  so  many  analogies  with  archaic 
Greek  art,  must  not  this  latter  be  somehow  concerned  in  the  trans- 
mission ? Is  the  Greco-Buddhist  art,  after  all,  of  Greek,  Roman  or 
Byzantine  origin  ? So  difficult  have  seemed  the  answers  to  these  and 
other  questions  that  some  writers,  like  Mr.  Okakura,  seem  inclined  to 
deny  that  there  has  been  any  classic  influence  upon  Indian,  Chinese  and 
Japanese  art  at  all — just  as  I am  inclined  to  deny  that  any  specifi- 
cally Greek  influence  helped  model  the  Japanese  statuettes  of  Tomei, 
Seimei,  and  Tenchi.  On  the  other  hand,  Professor  Hirth  would  throw 
back  the  specific  Greek  influence  as  far  as  the  Han. 

If  we  look  at  the  graphic  curve  of  the  ups  and  downs  of  Euro- 
pean art  as  a whole,  drawn  upon  a single  time  scale,  we  see  that 
it  piles  into  two  great  and  sharply-pointed  waves  whose  summits  are 
separated  by  a gigantic  trough  of  2,000  years.  Our  pride  is  somewhat 
shocked  to  see  that  the  great  European  mind  has  been  stricken  with 
aesthetic  disease  and  decay  during  by  far  the  largest  part  of  its 
course.  The  long,  tiresome,  and  apparently  hopeless  descent  of  classic 
art  in  both  Europe  and  Asia  filled  more  than  a millennium.  But,  upon 
inserting  against  the  same  time  scale  the  curves  of  Chinese  and  Japanese 
art,  we  see  that  their  rise  to  culmination  under  remote  classic  influence 
in  the  seventh  century,  is  contemporary  with  the  moment  of  deepest 
depression  in  Europe.  A specifically  Christian  art,  the  Gothic,  rising 
from  Greek  ruins  in  the  West,  comes  much  later  than  a specifically 
Buddhist  art  arising  from  Greek  ruins  in  the  East.  Yet  it  would 
not  be  surprising  if  the  process  upon  the  two  sides  presented  many 
features  in  parallel. 

If  there  were  any  way  of  showing  how  archaic  Greek  art  could 
have  got  into  Central  Asia,  and  then  exerted  influence  a thousand  years 
after  it  was  dead  in  the  West,  we  should  eagerly  invoke  it  to  explain 
a thousand  pseudo-parallels.  Not  only  should  we  find  like  technique 
in  the  convergence  of  simple  catenary  curves,  and  the  shell-like  openings 
of  downwards  falling  drapery,  and  in  the  character  of  face-modelling,  as 
we  have  already  indicated  ; but  we  should  discover  the  identical  cork- 
screw curls  upon  a Buddha’s  head  and  in  the  thick  beards  of  ancient 
Dorian  sages  and  heroes.  In  aesthetic  dignity  the  simple  long  folds  of 
the  Yumedono  Kwannon  just  match  those  of  the  Greek  bronze 


Statue  of  Mausolas. 


Statue  of  Buddha  as  an  Indian  Prince, 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  CHINA 


75 

charioteer,  and  the  intertwining  lines  of  the  three  famous  figures  upon 
a tomb  show  rich  systems  of  tension  curves  comparable  with  the  screen 
Trinity.  The  sway  of  the  figures  in  the  finest  Japanese  bronzes  of  the 
eighth  century  recall  that  in  the  winged  Victory  of  the  Louvre  ; even  the 
stocky  little  short-headed  horses  of  the  Parthenon  might  serve  in 
comparisons.  And  yet  we  must  dismiss  all  these  striking  analogies  as 
independent  growths  of  a common  human  genius. 

It  is  not  the  great  culminating  Attic  or  Rhodian  art  of  Greece  that 
pierced  its  way  into  the  West  body  of  Asia;  but  rather  a native  Ionian 
form  that  already  had  found  independent,  if  lower  development  among 
the  cities  of  Asia  Minor.  As  the  Mesopotamian  powers,  especially 
Persia,  spread  to  those  and  absorbed  them,  they  left  Oriental  features 
in  their  wake.  Perhaps  there  were  three  waves  of  intermingling  between 
the  Eastern  Mediterranean  and  the  Euphrates  — a prehistoric  one  which 
involved  both  in  Asiatic  origins,  the  Persian  domination,  and  more 

potent  still,  the  Hellenic  intermingling  that  followed  Alexander’s 
conquest  of  Syria  and  Persia.  Thus  we  find  among  Greeks  such  a 
purely  Asiatic  type,  we  would  almost  like  to  say  such  a Buddhist  type 
as  the  Diana  of  the  Ephesians,  with  the  many  forms  of  relief  upon  its 
halo,  and  its  multiplicity  of  function  denoted  by  repetition,  as  in  the 
eleven-headed  Kwannon.  Greek  painted  portraits  found  among  the 

tombs  of  Egypt,  indeed  the  wholer  ange  of  Byzantine  figure  art  is 
stiffly  Persian,  not  to  say  hieratically  Buddhist  in  its  design,  and  upon 
late  Byzantine  Christian  marble  reliefs  we  find  symmetrically  arranged 
birds  and  grape  vines,  not  unlike,  but  much  ruder  than  ancient  Nara 

decoration  of  the  eighth  century,  and  the  lovely  designs  upon  Tang 

mirrors.  It  is  noticeable  that  the  twisting  stems  of  such  vines  are  for 
all  the  world  like  the  lotos  stems  under  the  angels  upon  the  Japanese 
bronze  screen  ; both  apparently  deriving  from  Assyrian  tree  forms  of  a 
thousand  years  before  Christ.  So  much  for  possible  reflex  waves. 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  however,  that  the  remote  origin  of  Greco- 
Buddhist  dates  from  the  conquest  of  Alexander.  To  be  sure,  Greek 
influence  had  already  spread  Eastward  from  the  Ionian  settlements  in 
Asia ; but  such  sporadic  transmission  was  confirmed,  rendered  official  and 
usual,  as  it  were,  when  Greek  monarchs  ruled  almost  as  far  East  as 
India.  Megisthus  indeed,  one  of  the  Greek  generals,  made  friendly 
visits  to  the  Central  Indian  Buddhist  kingdom  of  Maghada.  And  yet 
it  can  hardly  be  said  that  Greek  aesthetic  canons  and  sculptural  technique 

H Z 


7 6 EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

made  at  first  much  headway  against  Mesopotamian  formation.  For  the 
most  part,  Persian  forms  were  only  a little  modified  ; and  the  Selencida 
did  not  hold  Persia  long.  It  was  rather  to  the  North-East,  among  a 
freer  mountain  people,  not  enervated  with  ancient  Assyrian  tradition,  the 
Baktrians,  that  Greek  art  took  specific  hold.  Here  an  independent 
dynasty  of  Greek  sovereigns,  not  tributary  to  either  Antioch  or 
Macedonia,  maintained  itself  down  to  the  second  century  before  Christ. 

The  sources  of  Greco-Baktrian  art  were  probably  as  follows: — 
First,  the  school  of  Greek  sculpture  already  located  and  hardened  in 
Syria.  The  type  of  this  is  the  famous  mausoleum  of  the  King  of 
Coria,  whose  name  has  added  a noun  to  our  vocabulary.  If  we 
compare  the  very  statue  of  Mausolas  with  the  winged  Victory  of 
Samothrace,  or  the  Parthenon  fragments,  for  instance,  we  find,  along 
with  like  technical  processes,  a great  change  in  aesthetic  ideals.  The 
lines  of  drapery  are  now  heavy,  unimaginative,  and  grouped  with  poor 
decorative  intention;  the  actual  number  of  convolutions  is  far  fewer; 
the  grace  of  the  figure  is  lost  ; and  a method  of  cutting  the  eye  very 
deeply  under  a projecting  brow  has  come  in.  In  short,  the  method 
is  coarse  and  realistic,  like  certain  late  phases  of  Roman  work  ; and 
the  features  reveal  a materialistic  face,  a sort  of  gorged  satrap  type, 
which  seems  to  indicate  the  evil  influences  of  Oriental  luxury  upon 
Greek  manhood.  That  this  is  quite  the  type  of  sculptured  figure 
which  occurs  in  the  Ghandara  relics  will  shortly  be  seen. 

Another  source,  which  may  have  in  part  counteracted  the  heaviness 
of  the  first,  was  the  kind  of  terra-cotta  work  exemplified  by  the  Tanagra 
figurines.  This,  though  realistic,  found  a new  kind  of  grace  in  their 
slim  proportions  and  plastic  movement.  It  is  possible  from  this  very 
attenuated  suavity  that  the  thinness  which  we  have  noticed  in  North 
Chinese  and  Corean  early  Buddhist  bronzes  ultimately  derives. 

A third  source,  which  would  naturally  help  to  confirm  the  slimness, 
is  the  seal  engraving  and  the  medalling  in  which  Greek  art  is  so 
happy.  Here,  where  whole  figures  are  grouped  into  a design,  a 
tendency  to  give  them  a thin  line  feeling  shows  a natural  aesthetic 
impulse.  This  prevailing  thinness  of  seal  work  is  characteristic  of 
Persian  art  also.  It  enters  from  both  sources  into  the  designs  of 
Greco-Baktrian  coins.  Where  these  are  almost  pure  Greek,  they 

show  thin  classic  figures  in  rhythmic  pose  or  motion,  combined  often 
with  animal  forms,  of  lions  and  hump-backed  bulls  of  similar 


Group  of  Heads  from  the  Lahore  Museum 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  CHINA 


77 

attenuation.  That  this  Perso-Baktrian  slimness  really  did  condition 

Chinese  Han  ornament  upon  the  first  glazed  vases,  we  have  already 
seen  in  the  third  chapter. 

A fourth  source  was,  of  course,  architectural  structure  and  ornament 
— the  column,  the  volute  capital,  the  acanthus  scroll,  the  anthemion,  and 
other  leaf  forms.  All  these  are  found  in  endless  fragments  among 
the  Ghandara  relics  of  the  Lahore  Museum. 

How  then  can  we  account  for  the  bodily  transference  of  these 

Greek  traditions  massed  in  Baktria  to  Ghandara  kingdoms  in  the 
north-west  corner  of  India  ? When  the  Chinese  Emperor  Butei  of 
Han  sent  his  first  commission  to  the  West  120  years  b.c.,  as  men- 
tioned in  Chapter  II.,  it  was  with  the  primary  purpose  of  tracing 
the  migrations  of  the  Yuechi,  a prominent  Tartar  or  Scythian  band, 
sometimes  called  the  White  Huns,  who  had  suddenly  vacated  their 
seats  in  Northern  Mongolia.  The  commission  found  them,  after  long 
' years’  search,  settled  peacefully  among  the  mountain  valleys  and 
plateaus  of  that  same  Baktria  which  had  already  enjoyed  Greek 
tuition  in  Art  for  two  hundred  years.  It  was  then  that  the  Baktrian 

sources  opened  up  by  the  great  caravan  way  to  the  knowledge  of 

Han  ; though  it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that,  at  that  difficult  dis- 
tance, much  in  the  way  of  heavy  sculpture  would  have  been  available 
for  transportation.  Indeed,  the  intercourse  was  too  sporadic  and  indirect 
to  lead  then  to  any  thorough-going  transplanting  of  a style.  If 
Greek  art,  after  centuries  of  far  closer  contact  with  Persia  and  India, 
had  been  able  to  exert  so  little  effect  upon  their  conservative  design, 
it  is  not  conceivable  that  a few  small  models  or  drawings,  approxi- 
mately Greek,  could  have  transplanted  anything  like  classic  technique 
to  the  alien  and  distant  provinces  of  China.  It  is  rather  in  the 
slowly  accumulating  influence  over  the  Tartar  mind  of  these  domesti- 
cated Scythians  during  a century  or  more  that  we  must  look  for 
a possible  line  of  transmission.  We  know  that  it  was  those  very 
Scythian  tribes,  now  grown  strong,  populous,  settled,  and  civilized  among 
their  Greco-Baktrian  adopters,  who,  somewhere  probably  in  the  first 
century  before  Christ,  or  at  latest  just  after,  grew  restless  again  in 
their  contracted  seats,  envied  the  rich  possibilities  of  that  splendid 
north-west  plain  where  Indus  leaps  down  toward  the  sea  from  its 
mountain  cradle,  and  in  a series  of  unrecorded  migrations  or  violent 
campaigns,  made  themselves  masters  of  it.  Here  was  a Tartar  race 


78  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

upon  Indian  soil,  with  Greek  methods  in  its  hand — indeed  a fresh, 
hopeful  combination.  Here,  in  a great  North  Indian  empire,  which 
has  been  called  Ghandara,  they  lived  and  ruled  for  at  least  four 
centuries,  undergoing  varying  vicissitudes  in  their  peaceful,  or  warlike, 
influences  with  the  other  races  of  Central  and  Northern  India. 

Yet  even  this  would  hardly  have  availed  to  perpetuate  Greek  art 
as  a mere  remote  tradition  were  it  not  that  here  a distinct  new  work 
was  given  to  Greek  art  to  do — that  cut  it  from  its  decaying  roots 
and  transplanted  it  into  a new  vitality.  This  work  was  the  creation 

of  a complete  new  iconography  for  the  early  stages  of  a positive 
Northern  Buddhism.  In  strong  contrast  to  the  effeminate  pessimism 
of  the  South  of  India,  the  races  of  North  India  were  already  restless 
in  their  efforts  to  recast  the  parent  faith,  or,  as  they  believed,  restore 
it  to  its  primitive,  ante-metaphysical  usefulness.  Among  these  the 
half-polished  Scythian  conquerors  of  the  North,  of  fresh,  positive, 
healthful  mind,  found  themselves  in  the  position  of  leaders  ; and  to 
the  capital  of  their  sovereigns,  near  the  present  Peshawur,  flocked  the 
more  independent  sages  of  the  Buddhist  world.  It  was  something  like 
a Gothic  Emperor  Charlemagne  saving  Roman  Europe  by  fostering 
the  first  new  life  of  a northern  and  mediaeval  scholarship.  And  just  as 
the  spiritual  and  philosophical  leadership  of  Christendom  fell  to  Scots- 
men, Saxons,  and  Irish,  so  did  that  of  Buddha-dom  to  scholars  of 
Mongolian  blood.  Here  it  was  that  Asampho  and  Vasubandhu  for- 
mulated the  positive  tenets  of  an  idealism  so  searching  and  vast  that 
it  well-nigh  surpasses  the  scope  of  Hegel,  and  may  yet  be  recognised 
as  the  intellectual  flowering  of  Asia.  Here,  too,  the  Scythian  Emperor 
Kamikka,  perhaps  in  the  first  century  of  our  era,  held  that  fourth 
Pan-Buddhist  council  which  formulated  the  larger  policy  of  the  North, 
and  led  to  a final  split  with  the  metaphysical  bishops  from  Ceylon 
and  the  South.  This  was  the  decisive  move  which  made  a deeper 
Buddhism  possible  for  North  China  and  Japan. 

For  determining  the  exact  age  and  derivation  of  this  Scythian  move- 
ment in  Buddhism,  we  have  much  conflicting  evidence  to  sift.  That 
it  was  largely  confined  to  its  primitive  seats  in  the  Punjab  until  perhaps 
the  third  century  is  probable.  Between  that  time  and  the  sixth  it  spread, 
in  its  forms  of  art  at  least,  to  the  south-east  as  far  as  Java,  and  to 
the  north-east  along  the  Khotan  route  on  the  south  edge  of  the 
desert,  until  it  had  almost  penetrated  China.  That  this  slow  process 


Statue  of  a Scythian  Emperor. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  CHINA 


79 


involves  wave  after  wave  of  doctrinal  evolution  is  probable  enough  ; 
and  there  is  probably  no  singleness  in  the  transmission  of  artistic  models. 
Nevertheless  there  seems  to  be  a certain  degree  of  unity  to  the  many 
efforts  which  for  the  moment  we  have  to  group  together  as  Greco- 
Buddhist  art. 

The  monuments  of  this  art,  as  found  in  the  ancient  seats  of 
Ghandara,  have  been  explored  by  General  Cunningham  and  others  of 
the  Archaeological  Survey  of  India,  and  their  ruined  fragments,  kept  by 
the  fanatical  Hindu  iconoclasts  of  the  fourth  century,  have  been  collected 
into  the  museum  at  Lahore.  Lesser  fragments  are  dispersed  through 
many  of  the  museums  of  Europe. 

The  relations  of  this  art  to  the  Syrian  Greek  are  especially  notable 
in  the  portrait  statues  of  the  Scythian  rulers.  The  drapery  is  more 
formal,  not  unlike  debased  Roman  ; but  the  attempt  to  give  muscular 
detail  and  the  deep  cutting  of  the  features  is  not  primitive  Indian, 
and  has  no  relation  to  the  cramped  Persian.  Some  of  these  inonarchs 
are  girdled  in  festoons  of  flowers.  They  wear  heavy  mustachios.  And 
some  of  the  heads  of  warriors  are  crowned  with  a cobra  cap.  Later 
examples  cut  the  eye  in  degenerate  Greek  fashion  without  depth,  making 
only  the  two  lids. 

It  is  most  interesting  to  compare  with  these  portraits  the  favourite 
statues  of  Sakyamuni  as  a young  prince,  before  his  conversion.  Here 
he  stands  in  marble  effigy,  dressed  in  almost  identically  the  costume  of 
the  Ghandara  grandees,  with  heavy  mantles  passing  over  the  shoulders 
and  arms,  and  the  luxuriant  waving  hair,  purely  Greek  in  style  of 
cutting,  descending  over  the  shoulders  and  caught  up  in  a beautiful 
dome-like  lock  on  the  top  of  the  head.  A flat  circular  slab  for  halo 
relieves  the  face,  which  is  sometimes  round  and  smiling,  now  lean,  sharp, 
anxious,  and  almost  “ Baktrian.”  The  chest,  ribs,  and  abdominal  por- 
tions are  finely  modelled  in  classic  style. 

A most  interesting  transition  can  now  be  marked,  in  comparing 
the  Lahore  statues,  between  these  Buddha  princes  and  the  detached 
statues,  generally  seated,  of  the  ascetic  Buddha,  the  Sakyamuni  of  re- 
nouncement, approximating  in  its  cross-legged  attitude  to  the  familiar 
Buddha  altar-pieces  of  so  many  countries  and  centuries.  Here  the  robe 
is  a single  ample  garment  swathing  in  its  many  lines  of  fold  the  whole 
body,  or  all  but  one  shoulder.  But  the  lines  of  these  folds  are  now 
far  more  Greek,  more  realistic,  deeper  cut,  and  much  more  beautiful 


80  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

than  primitive  Indian  in  the  folds  of  the  catenary  curves.  The  hair, 
too,  at  first  shows  the  top  lock,  though  simpler  than  the  prince’s  curls, 
yet  displaying  itself  as  a natural  bunch  of  hair  flowing  in  small  waves. 
As  hieratic  tradition  hardens  or  skill  decreases,  the  lines  of  the  garment 
become  more  formal,  the  eyes  more  prominently  set  under  formal  brows, 
the  topknot  more  like  a domed  excrescence  upon  the  Buddha’s  head  ; 
and  the  hair  waves  on  both  head  and  knot  reduced  to  formal  and 
parallel  lines,  between  which  the  old  lumps  reappear  as  individual  curls. 

Among  the  finest  of  the  Buddha  heads,  illustrating  this  transition, 
is  that  of  the  so-called  Taxila  Buddha,  a fragment  named  from  its  place 
of  discovery,  the  identical  place  where  Alexander  fought  his  battle  with 
Porus.  It  can  be  seen  here  that  the  lobes  of  the  ears  were  elongated 
and  pierced  to  receive  the  weight  of  some  heavy  jewelled  ornament. 
We  have  already  noticed  in  Chapter  IV.  that  an  ornament  still  remains 
as  ear  weight  in  the  Chinese  Dzin  statues.  This  Taxila  head  has  a 
decidedly  Napoleonic  cast.  In  some  Lahore  Museum  photographs  it 
is  expressly  compared  with  a Greek  head,  an  Egyptian,  and  a Scythian 
portrait. 

But  to  realize  the  wealth  of  type,  beauty,  and  classic  quality  of 
Ghandara  heads,  we  ought  to  study  the  female  or  Bodhisattwa  portraits. 
Here  we  find  some  that  are  for  all  the  world  like  Roman  portraits  of 
ladies  in  the  Naples  Museum.  The  female  Bodhisattwa  type  is  very  beau- 
tiful, catching  the  hair  up  into  a domed  topknot  like  the  Buddhas,  but 
in  which  there  is  no  suggestion  of  implied  cerebral  monstrosity.  This 
beautiful  form  of  coiffure  remains  in  the  finest  Greco-Buddhist  statues  of 
Japan.  There  are  portraits  of  old  men,  too,  with  long  straight  falling 
beards,  like  a tragic  mask  ; and  fine  clear-faced  youths  with  riotous  curls 
escaping  under  a Phrygian  cap.  Other  details  familiar  in  Northern 
Buddhism  are  found  on  every  hand  : the  lion  and  the  elephant  thrones 
for  instance.  Upon  a lion  sits  a headless  youth  playing  an  instrument 
that  seems  nearly  identical  with  a Chinese  biwa. 

But  another  most  notable  feature  are  the  architectural  panels  heavily 
carved  with  sculpture  in  high  relief,  for  all  the  world  like  degenerate 
Greek  on  the  one  hand,  and  still  more  like  the  early  Italian  revival 
decorations  of  the  Pisani.  Here  are  countless  scenes  from  the  life  of 
Buddha,  the  familiar  figure  being  surrounded  by  figures  in  turbans ; 
now  working  in  with  those  dramatically  ; now  seated  enthroned,  and 
with  the  hand  raised  in  attitude  of  preaching  ; and  now  reclining 


Buddhist  Carvings  from  Khotan. 


Khotan  Bodhisattwa, 
Slim  Type. 


Painting  from  Khotan 
Figure  on  Horse. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  CHINA 


8 1 


upon  the  bier  of  Nirvana.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  decorations  is 
in  three  concentric  lunettes  of  Buddhist  pointed  window  arches,  where 
three  groups  of  figures  are  well-spaced,  the  angles  of  the  upper  band 
being  filled  with  graceful  semi-classic  chimeras  of  rolling  snake’s  body, 
a leaf  tail,  shoulder  wings,  a centaur’s  foot,  and  a Greco-Buddhist  beast. 
Processions  of  figures  with  animal  heads,  seriocomic,  are  for  all  the 
world  like  sculptures  on  the  facade  of  Orvieto. 

Specially  characteristic  are  the  groups  of  classic  figures,  masses 
standing,  and  in  half  or  almost  full  relief,  about  the  faces  of  high 
rectangular  altars,  and  separated  into  panels  by  columns.  Of  these, 
some  of  the  finest,  though  headless,  are  nude  below  the  hips,  with 
thoroughly  classical  drapery,  and,  what  is  more  to  the  purpose,  of  a 
graceful  attenuated  proportion  which  recalls  the  Ionic  statuette  type  of 
the  past,  and  points  forward,  as  does  this  very  disposition  about  the 
altar,  to  the  Khotan  sculptures  of  Central  Asia.  That  terra-cottas  them- 
selves are  not  absent  in  Ghandara  is  proved  by  many  vigorous  clay 
heads  of  Buddhas  and  children,  and  humorous  types  of  old  men  and 
vagabonds.  It  is  here  possibly  that  we  have  a connected  relic  of 
dramatic  types  descended  from  Greek  comedy,  and  not  unlike  Greek 
comic  masks.  Scythian  coins,  too,  show  the  persistence  of  the  Greco- 
Baktrian  type. 

But  if  after  all  this  evidence  any  sceptic  were  to  doubt  at  least  the 
semi-classic  origin  of  this  Ghandara  art,  we  could  still  point  to  goat- 
like Silenus  statues,  representations  of  Athene ; but  more  conclusively 
than  all  to  the  elaborate  capitals  with  their  ornaments  of  fine  acanthus 
leaves  and  the  modified  volutes  of  their  corners.  Here  it  is  startling 
to  find  a keen  realization  of  the  strange  combination  of  East  and  West, 
in  the  little  graceful  Buddha,  with  head  bent  in  contemplation,  and  hand 
stretched  out  for  support  to  a fold  of  giant  Greek  acanthus. 

I have  given  so  much  space  to  the  description  of  an  art  which  is 
properly  not  included  in  the  history  of  Chinese,  partly  because  it  is 
specially  interesting  to  us  Westerners  to  trace  the  steps  of  our  own 
Greek  art  in  its  trans- Asiatic  passage  to  Japan  ; partly  because  its 
Scythian  authors  are,  after  all,  of  the  same  Tartar  race  as  the  Buddhists 
of  North  China  and  the  Coreans  ; but  especially  because  it  is  this  very 
Ghandara  art  that  was  studied  by  the  Chinese  pilgrim  Hiomtsang  which 
gradually  expanded  north-eastward  toward  the  Chinese  boundaries,  and 
which  did  eventually  in  the  seventh  century  make  its  triumphant  and 


82  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

vivifying  entry  into  the  new  great  Buddhist  theatre  of  China,  Corea 
and  Japan.  We  can  hardly  understand  the  meaning  of  dominant  Japanese 
types  at  Nara  without  this  reference  to  their  Indian  sources. 

How  far  this  Greco-Buddhist  art  of  the  North-West  affected  the  rest 
of  India  is  still  a problem.  It  has  been  supposed  that  at  least  it  passed 
south-east  across  India  to  the  port  near  the  topes  of  Amravati,  whence 
ships  weighed  anchor  for  Java.  Whether  the  magnificent  sculptures  of 
Borobodor  in  the  great  Southern  Island  are  in  reality  Greco-Buddhist  of 
Ghandara  origin,  or  whether  they  may  not  have  been  developed  into 
Greek-like  beauty  by  a fresh  island  genius,  akin  to  the  Japanese,  out  of 
elements  already  latent  in  Ceylonese  art — I am  not  called  upon  to  decide. 
But  that  this  wave  of  civilization  from  Ghandara  passed  northward  from 
the  Indus  valley,  into  the  great  mountain  passes  of  Balkh  and  Swat, 
leaving  an  earlier  Himalyan  type  stranded  in  the  side  stations  of  Cash- 
mere  and  Nepaul,  and  advancing  over  the  roof  of  the  world  to  the 
great  Turkestan  plain  lying  beyond  the  Pamirs,  pushing  up  toward 
Kashgar  and  Samarcand,  and  downward  again  to  skirt  the  southern  bor- 
ders of  the  great  deserts  which  the  Kunlung  range,  with  its  treasures  of 
native  jades,  separates  from  Thibet,  and  so  on  kingdoms  far  toward 
the  Chinese  border,  has  been  verified  by  the  important  recent  explor- 
ations of  Sven  Hedin,  Mr.  Stein  of  the  Indian  Government,  and  others. 
There  from  the  sands  of  Taklamakan  deserts,  which,  blowing  from  the 
North,  had  swallowed  up  as  early  as  the  ninth  century  populous  Buddhist 
Kingdoms,  visited  and  described  by  the  Chinese  travellers  Fahien 
and  Hiontsang,  have  been  dug,  and  six  years  since,  manuscripts 
written  upon  leather  in  the  Karasthri  script  used  in  Ghandara,  and 
clasped  with  seals  impressed  by  Greek  figures,  vast  altars  decorated 
with  life-sized  relief  Greco-Buddhist  figures  in  stucco,  Greco-Buddhist 
heads  in  terra-cotta  mixed  in  the  strata  with  Chinese  coins,  figures 
of  classic  females  holding  a child,  clay  Buddhas  more  or  less  rude 
with  the  full  Ghandara  drapery,  fragments  of  great  clay  halos  with 
Buddhas  in  half  relief,  and  tinted  in  brilliant  colours,  and  paintings 
upon  leather  of  figures  riding  horses,  whose  bodies  seem  at  first  like 
modern  Persian,  but  show  rounded  heads  with  the  Greco-Buddhist 
topknot  very  close  to  the  heads  of  the  famous  frescoes  at  Horiuji. 
To-day  the  original  wooden  posts  of  these  submerged  buildings,  and 
worn  by  the  storms  of  a thousand  seasons,  project  in  sad  desolation 
from  the  great  low  plains  that  stretch  for  hundreds  of  miles  to  the 


Small  Statue  of  Buddha  carved  in  Stone 
among  Greek  Acanthus  Leaves. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  CHINA  83 

north-east  of  the  Khotan  oasis.  Khotan  was  from  ancient  days  the 
centre  of  this  region,  and  near  it  the  finest  and  richest  of  the  ruins 
lie.  Manuscripts,  Karasthri  and  Chinese,  prove  that  this  rich  region  had 
a flourishing  Greco-Buddhist  art  as  early  as  the  third  century,  and  that 
it  was  destroyed  not  later  than  the  eighth  or  ninth. 

Looking  at  the  terra-cotta  sculptures  of  a certain  great  altar,  we 
see  that  they  are  almost  identical  in  noble,  tall  aesthetic  type  with 
the  Greek  headless  figures  on  the  Ghandara  altar.  We  shall  soon  see, 
too,  their  close  relations  with  the  Greco-Buddhist  sculptures  and 
paintings  in  China  and  Japan.  Here  then  is  the  missing  link  which 
enables  us  to  carry  classic  proportions  and  drapery  from  Baktria 
to  China,  and  eight  centuries  later  than  the  Western  expedition 

of  Han. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Khotan,  Mr.  Stein  visited  an  early  temple, 
perhaps  of  the  third  century,  where  some  ancient  conqueror,  coming  from 
the  West,  perhaps  from  Ghandara,  had  become  deified  into  the  great 
warrior  champion  of  Buddha  in  those  regions,  a Constantine  in  helmet 
and  linked  armour  who  treads  down  the  dwarfed  spirits  of  evil. 
This  object  of  local  worship  is  included  among  the  four  great 
archangels  of  the  Buddhist  altars,  and  is  specially  worshipped  in 
separate  altar-piece,  as  we  shall  see,  in  his  cult  imported  from  Khotan 
into  Japan  along  with  its  Greco-Buddhist  art.  The  very  leather 

boots  of  these  militant  figures,  into  which  the  trousers  are  tucked, 

their  suits  of  armour  and  leather  aprons,  appear  in  the  Chinese 

sculpture  of  the  next  age. 

One  more  notable  feature  is  that  in  some  of  these  sculptures, 
which  are  perhaps  later,  we  find  a tendency  to  great  attenuation  and 
height,  with  small  rounded  head  and  small  waist,  which  seems  to 
imply  a new  mixture  with  the  older  Himalyan  type,  like  that  which 
was  pouring  northward  into  Thibet,  and  to  foreshadow  that  slim 
Northern  Tartar  type  of  East  Asia,  which  passes  into  Corean  art. 
Certain  paintings,  too,  upon  the  walls  of  these  excavated  houses  give 
us  the  small  heads,  rounded  shoulders  and  simple  colours  of  the 
earliest  Corean  Buddhist  painting,  such  as  we  find  as  illuminations  on 
primitive  scripture  rolls. 

Perhaps  the  Khotan  pieces  of  great  aesthetic  value  are  few,  but 
among  others  we  must  point  to  the  very  fine  terra-cotta  head,  only 
slightly  injured,  which  will  compare  very  favourably  with  the  Taxila 


84  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

Buddha.  We  shall  regard  this  in  a special  sense  as  an  artistic  link 
between  the  latter  and  the  Chinese  clay  Buddha  of  Udzumasa. 

We  come  back  now  to  Chinese  art,  at  the  point  where  we  left  it,  to 
mark  the  extraordinary  harvest  sown  by  it  in  the  adjoining  fields  of  Corea 
and  Japan.  Already  at  the  end  of  Chapter  III.  we  have  described  the 
extraordinary  invigoration  of  Chinese  genius  due  to  the  sudden  fusion 
into  the  Dzin  and  Tang  empires,  apparently  for  the  moment  complete, 
of  all  hitherto  separate  movements  and  scattered  elements:  Buddhist, 
Taoist,  Confucian,  Northern,  Southern,  Tartar  and  Miaotse.  The  Tang  (To) 
dynasty  had  come  in  as  a military  colossus  in  6 1 8 ; but  the  great  soldier 
and  leader  ot  Tang  who  consolidated  Chinese  strength  and  expanded 
it  again  far  toward  the  West,  was  the  second  Tang  emperor,  Taiso— 
one  of  the  greatest  and  wisest  of  Chinese  rulers,  who  reigned  from  627 
to  650.  It  was  in  this  great  westward  expansion  that  the  introduction 
of  Greco-Buddhist  art  was  effected.  Chinese  armies  and  peaceful  missions 
now  marched  again  westward  into  Turkestan  ; and  the  pious  pilgrim 
Hiomtsang  stopped  at  all  the  famous  Greco-Buddhist  sites  in  Khotan, 
Turkestan,  Ghandara  and  Central  India,  collecting  manuscripts,  drawings 
and  models  of  every  description,  which  were  all  safely  brought  back  to 
China  in  the  year  645. 

Meanwhile,  communication  by  sea  had  been  opened  up  with  Sassanian 
Persia  ; princes  and  scholars  of  the  Western  kingdom  had  been  received 
as  guests  in  Taiso’s  capital,  and  wrote  in  Persian  the  world’s  first  careful 
notes  of  the  Middle  Empire,  which  have  only  recently  been  made 
available  to  Europe  in  translation.  There  is  reason  to  believe,  too,  that 
the  Byzantine  emperors,  or  their  governors  in  Syria,  had  held  com- 
munication with  China,  and  even  implored  the  assistance  of  her  powerful 
ruler  to  make  common  cause  against  the  firebrand  Mohammed,  who 
was  just  starting  a conflagration  on  the  borders  of  both.  Taiso 
apparently  agreed  to  the  alliance,  and  his  armies  were  preparing  to 
advance  from  Turkestan  to  the  relief  of  Persia,  when  the  Saracens, 
with  Napoleonic  haste,  frustrated  the  junction  by  driving  a wedge 
eastward  across  the  Chinese  path. 

One  seems  forced  to  trace  some  providential  meaning  in  this  second 
blocking  of  a direct  union  between  Europe  and  Asia.  Only  twice  in 
Chinese  history  was  it  conceivable  that  Celestial  commissioners  should 
have  fraternized  with  Roman  ; once  about  the  time  of  Christ  in  the  Han 


Clay  Head  of  a Boy  dug  up  at  Khotan 

By  permission  of  Dr.  Aurel  Stein. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  CHINA  85 

dynasty,  the  first  Chinese  expanded  empire  ; and  again  in  the  second 
great  Chinese  empire,  the  Tang  (To)  of  the  seventh  century.  Both  were 
powerful  enough  to  pierce  a continent ; both  were  anxious  to  meet  face 
to  face  the  renowned  Rome  of  their  day.  But  Parthian  trade  jealousy 
had  blocked  the  first  meeting  in  the  days  when  Western  Rome  had 
started  on  her  decline  ; and  now  Mohammedan  religious  fanaticism  was 
to  block  the  second  when  Eastern  Rome  already  felt  weak  before  the 
foe  that  was  to  dismember  and  destroy  her. 

Here  is  the  true  explanation  of  why  Greco-Buddhist  art  was  so 
late  in  reaching  China,  and  why  its  contact  was  so  brief  and  its  force 
so  rapidly  spent.  It  was  a tragic  moment  for  the  whole  East,  a mere 
touch-and-go.  This  new  Ghandara  Buddhism  with  its  fine  art  had 
been  smouldering  at  the  very  western  gates  of  China  for  three  cen- 
turies, but  the  weakness  of  internal  dissension  had  helped  the  barriers 
of  the  desert.  Just  now,  when  the  power  of  Tang  was  fraternizing, 
after  a lapse  of  400  years,  with  Khotan,  Kashgar  and  North-Western 
India,  and  claiming  share  in  the  great  religious  harvest,  it  was  all 
about  to  be  blotted  out  by  a mighty  Saracen  sirocco  that  would  soon 
obliterate  its  faintest  trace  and  change  the  whole  current  of  Central 
Asiatic  thought  and  art  for  ever.  It  was  high  time  that  Hiomtsang 
should  go  the  rounds,  make  notes  and  amass  relics  before  the  great 
black  curtain  shut  down.  Destruction  lay  for  Buddhism  on  every 
hand,  not  the  Mohammedan  blast  alone,  but  a threatened  final  on- 
slaught of  the  Northern  sands  that  had  already  swallowed  kingdoms, 
and  a fanatical  rising  in  India  itself,  which  was  to  wipe  out  the 
peaceful  monasteries  from  the  Peninsula  in  a wave  of  darkness  and 
blood. 

So  much  for  the  reason  why  Greco-Buddhist  contact  was  short. 
But  in  China  itself  the  new  inspiration  was  enthusiastically  welcomed 
by  the  Buddhist  party.  Hiomtsang  and  his  relics  were  installed  in  a 
rich  temple,  and  he  given  charge  of  a body  of  scholars  to  translate 
and  interpret  the  manuscripts  he  had  brought.  We  have  Chinese 
evidence  that  Khotan  art  rapidly  penetrated  eastward.  Scions  of  the 
royal  house  of  Khotan  became  guests  in  China,  were  naturalized,  and 
brought  in  their  national  arts,  of  which  the  records  of  painting  declare 
that  the  new  style  modelled  the  Buddhist  figures  into  an  appearance 
of  full  relief.  No  examples  of  this  kind  of  painting  exist,  unless,  as 
I suspect,  it  be  partially  preserved  in  the  great  frescoes  at  Horiuji, 


86  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

which  I am  soon  to  describe.  Along  the  newly  re-opened  route 
learned  immigrants,  driven,  perhaps,  by  already  growing  disturbances 
in  the  South,  came  up  over  the  mountains  from  India,  bringing  the 
germs  of  a new  esoteric  Buddhism  which  was  to  flame  into  pro- 
portions of  grandeur  in  the  next  century. 

It  is  possible  that  the  early  Chinese  landscape,  painted  in  oil  upon 
leather  in  the  Horiuji  collection,  and  showing  Tartars  on  a white 
elephant  in  the  foreground  of  a great  valley  lighted  by  a sunset,  belongs 
to  this  early  Tang  date,  though  I have  already  conjectured  its  attribution 
to  the  sixth  century.  But  if  we  compare  the  statue  of  the  Khotan 
hero,  Bisjamon,  now  in  Toji  of  Kioto,  with  the  Dzin  or  pre-Dzin 
example  in  Seiroji,  we  shall  see  how  much  richer  modelling  and  grace 
Chinese  art  was  absorbing.  Here  the  details  of  the  armour  fully 
carved,  and  the  group  upon  which  the  warrior  stands,  a female  with 
Greco-Buddhist  top-knot  in  the  centre,  flanked  with  large  headed  dwarfs 
or  barbarians,  exactly  correspond  with  features  of  the  stucco  Bisjamon 
unearthed  by  Mr.  Stein  near  Khotan.  Of  late  seventh  century  is  another 
fine  Chinese  Bisjamon,  somewhat  weather-worn,  kept  in  the  Japanese 
temple  of  Udzumasa. 

In  North-West  China,  near  Suifu,  is  cut  into  the  face  of  a great 
sandstone  cliff  the  whole  paraphernalia  of  a Buddhist  paradise,  the 
Trinity  on  thrones,  a congregation  of  the  faithful  in  realistic  grouping 
at  the  sides,  and  great  terraced  stories  of  palace  temples  at  the  back. 
Here  the  disposition  of  the  drapery,  rather  than  the  grace  of  the 
figures,  leads  us  to  ascribe  Greco-Buddhist  origin.  But  smaller  Chinese 
carvings  of  the  same  subject,  some  in  closable  pocket  shrines  of  wood, 
show  much  more  clearly  the  Greco-Buddhist  style. 

But  the  finest  and  most  classic  forms  that  have  come  down  to  our 
day  from  this  brief  movement,  of  which  there  is  no  clear  connected 
account  in  Chinese  history,  are  the  great  statues,  miniatures,  and  relief 
tablets,  done  in  marble,  in  hard-baked  clay,  and  in  soft  composition 
clay.  The  marble  statues  of  Buddhist  deities,  full-size  and  very  beau- 
tiful, were  found  lying  buried  beneath  the  grass  that  covers  ruined 
mounds,  in  the  outskirts  of  the  present  Western  capital  of  Singanfu. 
fust  here  stood  the  early  capital  of  Tang,  nearly  upon  the  ruins  of 
the  early  capital  of  Han,  and  close  by  the  site  of  the  capital  of  the 
still  earlier  founders  of  Chow.  What  a field  for  the  archaeologist  of 
some  future  century,  who  will  have  been  able  to  overcome  the 


The  Soft  Clay  Statue  of  Buddha  Seated, 

at  Udzumasa,  near  Kioto. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  CHINA  87 

superstitious  dread  of  excavation;  and  who  will  find,  layer  after  layer, 
first  at  the  bottom  the  veritable  bronze  vessels  and  unglazed  shards  of 
Chow ; next  the  walls  and  bas-reliefs  of  Han  ; and  then  the  broken 
columns  and  prone  altar  pieces  in  marble  of  the  Greco-Buddhist 
monasteries  of  Tang  (To). 

Samples  of  the  hard  clay  reliefs,  in  graceful,  crisp,  and  exquisite 
finish,  not  unworthy  of  the  Japanese  bronze  Trinity,  are  preserved  in 
Horiuji.  Here  the  grouping  is  almost  identical  with  some  of  the 
panels  of  the  Horiuji  frescoes.  The  placid  Buddha  sits  on  a throne 
with  feet  not  drawn  up  into  the  cross-legged  attitude,  but  falling  over  as 
if  from  a chair,  and  resting  upon  a lotos  footstand  below.  The  lines  of 
single  drapery  here,  disposed  in  a new  fashion,  are  crisp  and  wonderfully 
beautiful.  Graceful  Bodhisattwa  are  at  the  side,  shaven  monks  in  the 
background.  Fragments  of  the  elaborate  halo  are  beautifully  plastic. 

But  the  most  typical  example  of  Chinese  Greco-Buddhist  art  is 
probably  the  soft  clay  sitting  statue  of  a Buddha,  kept  at  Udzumasa 
near  Kioto.  There  is  no  clear  record  that  this  is  Chinese ; tradition 
had  rather  called  it  Corean.  The  Japanese  would  probably  like  to 
claim  it.  But,  even  in  the  clay  figures  of  Sangetsudo,  there  are  no 
Japanese  examples  of  such  realistically  plastic  modelling,  quite  omitting 
all  such  decorative  line  passages  as  we  find  in  the  bronze  statuettes. 
Here  the  figure  is  clearly  Greco-Buddhist,  quite  like  the  first  Ghandara 
Prince  Sakyamuni,  of  the  Lahore  Museum;  but  more  powerful  in 
conception  and  execution,  in  proportioning  and  spiritual  presence, 
than  any  Indian  piece.  The  great  heayy  folds  are  deeply  cut  as  if 
by  firm  pressure  of  the  thumb,  quite  as  we  block  out  the  masses 
in  our  wet  clay  models.  The  small  curls  in  the  hair,  too,  are  like 
waxy  lumps  which  we  had  just  pinched  together  with  three  fingers. 
Perhaps  some  of  the  roughness  is  due  to  repairs  ; but  it  seems 
probable  that  this  statue  was  left  undecorated  and  as  massively  virile 
as  an  untouched  photograph.  The  profile,  too,  is  almost  as  fine  as 
the  Yumedono  Kwannon.  That  this  statue  became  in  a clear  sense 
the  model  for  the  colossal  Japanese  bronze  Buddhas  of  the  Wado 
and  Yoro  epochs  can  hardly  be  doubted. 

One  more  phase  of  Greco-Buddhist  art  in  China  must  be  touched 
on,  namely — the  white  bronze  mirrors.  We  know  from  Chinese  records 
that  the  proportion  of  metals  in  their  alloy  was  nearly  equal  parts 
of  copper  and  tin.  The  more  common  forms  of  these  circular 


88  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

mirrors  is  to  fill  many  elaborate  concentric  bands  with  astronomical 
and  necromantic  symbols  mixed  with  delicate  Chinese  writing.  These 
symbols  show  actual  constellations,  or  groups  of  triglyphs  from  the 
Y-king  categories,  the  tortoise  and  hoo-bird,  and  the  so-called  zodiacal 
animals.  These  are  manifestly  in  subject  of  Chinese  origin,  and  only 
in  their  delicacy  of  tracery  superior  to  the  gems  of  such  Taoist 
symbolism  found  in  Han.  More  graceful  mirrors  than  these  are 
figured  in  the  Chinese  archaeological  books  sometime  as  Han, 
where  the  most  delicious  arabesque  traceries  clasp  into  spirals  the 
vivacious  outlines  of  hoos  and  lions ; while  flowers,  butterflies  and 
birds  on  wing  fill  the  ten-pointed  star  of  their  border.  But  by  far 
the  most  beautiful  mirrors  are  those  entirely  covered  with  exquisitely 
modelled  relief,  almost  surpassing  the  Japanese  angel  screen  in  easy 
grace  and  perfect  finish,  of  heron-like  birds  flying  among  grape  vines 
in  the  border;  and  animals  that  look  now  like  a lion,  now  a bear, 
and  now  a squirrel,  plunging  among  still  stronger  compositions  of 
grape  bunches  in  the  centre.  The  hollow  piece  that  holds  the 
string  is  as  like  a glorified  frog  on  a Han  bronze  drum.  We  have 
already  spoken  in  Chapter  II.  of  the  controversy  over  these  pieces  ; 
how  the  Chinese  books  call  them  Han,  how  Professor  Hirth  argues 
that  they  are  Han;  but  of  the  aesthetic  impossibility  how,  judging 
from  examples  I have  yet  seen,  my  sincere  doubt  that  they  can  be 
Han;  that  they  are  not  pure  Greek,  though  Greek-like  in  effect,  seems 
clear.  We  find  the  grape-vine  pattern  used  upon  late  Greek  work, 
but  with  nowhere  this  degree  of  grace.  These  pieces,  of  which  many 
large  specimens  are  kept  in  the  Shosoin  storehouse  at  Nara,  must  for 
the  present  be  ascribed  by  me  to  an  inner  decorative  flowering  of 
Chinese  genius  to  perfect  with  Chinese  shapes  rude  motives  that  may 
be  derived  from  Ghandara.  We  shall  speak  of  these  once  more  under 
Shosoin. 

We  have  already  explained  why  this  specific  Greco-Buddhist  move- 
ment in  China  was  cut  away  at  the  stem  before  it  had  absorbed 
sufficient  vitality  from  the  parent  root  to  render  it  more  than  a 
sporadic  form.  Pure  Chinese  causes  working  from  within,  making 

nobler  use  of  native  elements,  forgetting  the  pagan  non-symbolic  grapes 
and  squirrels,  and  substituting  more  Chinese  proportions  and  rich 
passages  of  brush  delineation  for  tall  and  realistic  Buddhist  modelling, 
were  about  to  follow  the  rapid  rise  of  Tang  poetry  to  the  veritable 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  CHINA 


89 

splendour  of  an  illumination.  By  the  year  698,  when  the  Emperor 
removed  his  capital  far  to  the  east,  at  Loyang,*  this  momentary 
quickening  had  well-nigh  ceased. 

It  seems  a tendency  with  some  writers  to  claim  all  that  followed 
for  centuries  in  Chinese  and  Japanese  art  to  the  credit  of  the 
Greco-Buddhist  movement  ; but  this  is  to  confuse  classifications.  In 
this  work  we  aim  to  seize  the  peculiar  creative  impulse  of  each 
period,  and  thus  explain  the  uniqueness  of  its  art.  Judged  by  such 
aim  the  Khotan  influence  was  brief,  and  the  specific  form  only  in 
part  assimilated.  It  is  doubtless  true  that  a certain  legacy  of 
nobleness  and  grace  was  left  to  later  ages  by  this  brief  passage,  just 
as  a certain  naive  solidity  was  deposited  by  Han — but  little  that 
is  specifically  of  Greek  type.  No  doubt  Chinese  art  grew  with 
every  step,  incorporating  successive  powers ; but  the  elements  that 
now  entered  into  the  quick  evolution  of  Tang  were  more  internal, 
spiritual,  and  formally  Chinese. 

* Japanese  pronunciation  “Rakuyo.” 


VOL.  I. 


I 


Chapter  VI. 

GRECO-BUDDH1ST  ART  IN  JAPAN. 

The  Culmination  of  Sculpture — Nara. 

Let  us  observe  now  the  outflow  of  this  sudden  classic  wave  in  China 
to  Kingdoms  lying  on  her  eastern  border.  Tang  (To)  ambition 
had  essayed  to  annex  Corea  in  645,  and  temporarily  succeeded 
in  668  ; thereby  almost  leading  to  serious  friction  with  Corea’s  friend, 
and  nominal  superior,  Japan.  This  is  why  Japan  was  so  much  more 
cut  off  from  Corean  contact  in  the  seventh  century  than  in  the  sixth, 
and  why  she  was  forced  first  to  evolve  art  from  within,  second  to  be 
influenced  by  Tang.  Corea,  too,  could  not  avoid  this  influence  ; and  we 
have  evidence  that  her  art,  already  so  fine,  was  lifted  up  into  something 
like  new  Greco-Buddhist  proportions  before  the  end  of  the  century. 

The  royal  palace  in  Seoul,  set  in  the  midst  of  fine  gardens,  with 
its  beautiful  carved  marble  terraces,  railings,  bridges  and  columns, 
and  its  specially  fine  swing  of  tiled  roof,  shows  clear  traces,  through  its 
many  rebuildings,  of  that  great  day  when  Corea  was  swayed  by  Tang. 
It  is  not  certain  whether  the  cream  glazed  pottery  for  which  Corea 
afterward  became  so  famous  can  date  from  this  seventh  century.  But 
we  have  one  large  Corean  bronze  of  the  first  rank,  which  was  presented 
from  the  continent  toward  the  end  of  the  century,  and  which  exhibits 
clearly  the  Greco-Buddhist  influence,  though  in  combination  with  invete- 
rate Corean  traits.  This  is  the  splendid  life-sized  standing  Kwannon, 
worshipped  as  the  central  altar-piece  of  the  Toindo  pavilion  in  Yaku- 
shiji,  near  Nara. 

To  mark  exactly  what  Corean  art  has  gained — and  possibly  lost — 
in  the  interval  of  a century,  it  is  a privilege  to  compare  this  Toindo 
Kwannon  with  the  Yumedono  Kwannon  of  almost  similar  size  described 
in  Chapter  III.  In  these  two  pieces  we  have  the  supreme  summits — 
so  far  as  we  now  know — of  Corean  art. 


DETAIL  OF  THE  FRESCOES  AT  HORIUJI 


I/JiflOH  fa  aaooaiiM  i 3ht  rc>  ji//nra 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  91 

The  later  Kwannon  stands  a little  stiffly,  with  almost  no  hip-sway, 
upon  a new  type  of  lotos  throne,  the  upper  petals  of  which  rise  stiffly, 
like  an  artichoke,  from  an  octagonal  box  member  whose  curving  sides 
are  decorated  with  relief  flower  scroll  that  may  well  be  modified 
acanthus.  The  modelling  of  this  bronze  throne  is  of  the  utmost  power 
and  semi-classic  beauty.  The  lower  part  of  the  figure  retains  much  of 
South  Indian  and  early  Corean  feeling,  with  its  drapery  close  winding 
about  the  legs,  the  fine  outward  swing  of  Go  folds  at  the  side,  and 
the  somewhat  thin  and  wiry  mantle  that  twines  to  the  feet  over  shoulder, 
hips,  and  arms.  But  in  the  upper  half  of  the  body  we  return  to  an 
approximately  Greco-Buddhist  type  : primarily  the  proportion,  the  fine 
long  chest  and  slightly  suggested  swell  of  the  bosom,  the  graceful  waist, 
the  long  arms,  the  small  well-modelled  hands,  and  especially  the  small 
beautifully  ovalled  head.  The  hair  is  of  the  pure  Greco-Buddhist 
Bodhisattwa  type,  the  very  large  top-knot  being  encased  in  a filigree 
net  with  conventional  scrolls.  Finely  moulded  jewels  encircle  the  neck, 
crisply  relieved  from  the  satin  texture  of  the  skin.  Above  all,  the  face 
possesses  great  beauty,  enhancing  under  its  semi-classic  sweetness  that 
beneficent  mysterious  smile  which  we  noticed  in  the  Yumedono  and 
Chuguji  Kwannons.  It  remains  to  add  that  the  bronze  of  which  it 
is  composed  is  of  a lovely  yellow  brown,  an  alloy  which  the  Japanese 
Buddhists  call  “ Embudagon,”  but  which  was  rarely  attempted  by  them. 
It  may  be  said  that  this  was  the  first  large  bronze  statue  ever  seen  in 
Japan,  and  that  it  had  immediately  great  influence  upon  Japanese  work. 

It  is  possible  that  the  colossal  bronze-seated  Buddha  of  Kanemanji, 
which  we  are  soon  to  describe,  is  also  a Corean  masterpiece  of  this 
date.  There  is  no  record  of  the  fact ; indeed,  all  tradition  regarding 
it  is  lost ; but  it  has  almost  as  clear  a golden  tone  in  its  alloy  as 
the  Embudagon  Kwannon  ; and  the  folds  of  drapery  about  the 
body  and  legs,  though  large  and  grand,  are  somewhat  wiry  and  formal, 
and  like  the  lower  portion  of  the  Toindo  Kwannon.  It  seems  more 
probable  that  it  is  a first  Japanese  experiment  made  with  Corean  material 
and  under  the  influence  of  Corean  genius. 

Let  us  pass  over  the  Straits  of  Tsushima,  and  resume  our  study 
of  Japanese  art  where  we  dropped  it  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  chapter. 
We  had  there  watched  Japan’s  long  series  of  experiments  with  bronze 
statuettes  culminate  in  the  brilliant  Trinity  of  the  Angel  screen.  We 

1 1 


92  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

make  this  the  dividing  line,  because  almost  immediately  after  this 
achievement  strong  Chinese  imperial  and  Greco-Buddhist  forces  were 
to  sweep  all  such  experiments  away  into  new  and  wider  channels. 

The  study  of  Chinese  institutions  begun  by  the  Emperor  Tenchi 
was  followed  up  by  his  successor,  Temmu,  and  the  latter’s  widowed 
Empress,  Jito.  The  latter  in  690  organized  the  ladies  of  her  palace 
into  a corps  of  female  officials.  She  also  established  a mint.  But 

her  greatest  achievement,  though  now  ruling  as  a retired  Buddhist  in 
the  name  of  her  son,  was  the  drafting  and  first  promulgation  of  the 
great  Taihorio  code  of  laws  in  702.  These  were  based  on  a deep 
study  of  Chinese  precedent,  and  had  for  their  primary  object  a just 
redistribution  of  the  land,  which  had  been  absorbed  by  the  nobles, 
among  the  agricultural  population  at  a fixed  rental.  A separate  soldier 
caste,  with  special  privileges  and  means  of  support,  was  devised. 
Moreover,  the  Empress  and  her  young  protege  held  quiet  receptions 
of  nobles  and  officials  in  the  palace  of  Daikiokuden,  quite  in  the  style 
of  Chinese  sovereigns.  Confucius,  too,  was  publicly  worshipped  for 
the  first  time,  along  with  Buddha.  A student  of  the  new  Chinese 
mysticism,  En  no  Gioja,  came  over  to  Japan,  but  was  not  well 
received. 

These  incidents  are  mentioned  chiefly  to  call  attention  to  the 
enormous  influence  upon  Japan  which  the  vigorous  Empire  of  Tang 
was  exerting  ; and  with  it  could  not  fail  to  intrude  the  new  aesthetic 
canons  of  the  Greco-Buddhists.  Already  the  clay  Buddha  of  Udzu- 
masa  and  the  terra-cotta  tablets  must  have  been  imported,  and  this 
Corean  bronze  Kwannon  of  Toindo  lay  ready  to  hand  as  additional 
motive.  It  was  apparently  in  the  western  side  of  the  Nara  plain, 
close  up  under  the  sand  hills,  and  a little  north  of  the  present 
town  of  Koriyama,  that  the  first  great  experiments  in  Japanese  Greco- 
Buddhist  art  were  made.  Here  stands  Yakushiji  itself  with  the 
Toindo  ; and  just  south  of  it  lies  Shodaiji,  an  institution  founded  a 
little  later,  but  probably  on  an  early  Buddhist  site.  Here,  amid  a 
mass  of  broken  statues  and  interesting  refuse,  I found  in  1880  a 
life-sized  piece  which  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  original  Greco- 
Buddhist  models,  or  at  least  experiments.  It  is  like  a great  doll 
of  wood,  apparently  finished  into  surface  with  over-layers  of  modelled 
clay.  The  Greekish  modification  of  Indian  drapery  over  the  legs 
is  under-cut  in  deep,  strong  catenary  folds  ; the  body,  nude  above 


Bronze  Buddha  at  Kanimanji. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  93 

the  waist,  shows  strong  markings  of  the  primary  muscular  tracts  ; 
the  long,  tapering  arm  has  been  separately  modelled  and  set  into 
the  shoulder  with  a plug ; the  neck  is  short,  the  head  rather  too 
large,  but  semi-Greek  in  profile,  and  a projecting  plug  shows  where 
a top-knot  was  added  to  the  Greco-Buddhist  hair. 

But  our  enumeration  of  the  sources  of  Japanese  Greco-Buddhism 
would  be  inadequate  without  the  famous  frescoes  that  now  completely 
cover  the  inside  surface  of  the  four  outer  walls  of  the  great  Kondo  at 
Horiuji,  five  miles  to  the  west  of  Koriyama.  I have  described  this 
first  great  temple  of  the  Suiko  age  in  Chapter  IV.  ; and  there  I mentioned 
that  a great  fire  about  680  ruined  the  first  erections,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  gate,  the  pagoda,  and  the  Kondo.  Some  Japanese 
archaeologists  believe  that  these,  too,  are  not  the  original  structures,  but 
belong  to  the  general  rebuilding,  which  must  have  been  achieved  under 
Greco-Buddhist  influences  coming  from  China ! I will  not  repeat  the 
arguments  there  briefly  canvassed  ; but  go  on  to  assert  that  the  great 
frescoes  of  the  Kondo,  whether  the  original  building  was  old  or  new, 
must  surely  have  been  painted  at  this  time.  The  low  pent-house  which 
runs  about  the  lower  story,  injuring  its  effect,  was  doubtless  no  part  of 
the  original  architecture,  but  a device  either  added  to  the  old  building 
to  protect  the  frescoes  from  exterior  damp,  or  added  later  to  the  new 
building,  as  it  was  found  that  protection  would  be  needed.  In  either 
case,  the  interior  of  the  Kondo  presents  a strange  agglomeration  of 
styles ; the  whole  altar,  most  of  the  statues  thereon,  and  the  great  hang- 
ing baldachins  being  purely  Suiko,  while  the  frescoed  walls  behind  them 
and  a few  of  the  statues  are  purely  Greco-Buddhist. 

It  seems  good  to  call  these  elaborate  paintings  frescoes,  since  they 
form  one  of  the  very  few  examples  of  mural  painting  on  plaster  which 
have  come  down  to  us  in  Eastern  Asia ; but  it  is  improbable  that  their 
method  was  pure  fresco,  that  is,  of  the  application  of  the  pigment  to  a 
wet  surface  : rather  does  it  seem  certain  that  the  chipping  off  of  the 

colour  shows  that  it  was  applied  to  the  dry  finish  of  the  wall,  quite  as 
it  might  have  been  painted  over  paper,  silk,  or  wood.  Some  English 
travellers  have  exclaimed  before  these  Horiuji  frescoes  upon  their  likeness 
to  the  wall  paintings  in  the  Adjunta  and  other  Buddhist  cave-temples  in 
Northern  India.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  between  the  two  aesthetic 
types  there  lies  a wide  gap.  It  is  true  that  in  both  we  find  the  flesh 
afterward  outlined  in  red,  and  that  somewhat  similar  Indian  types  are 


94  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

found  in  both.  But  in  all  that  concerns  aesthetic  classification,  in  spacing, 
in  proportion,  in  line  dignity  and  solidity  of  colouring,  and  in  the  noble 
presentation  of  spiritual  beings,  the  Horiuji  panels,  though  East  Asian, 
have  far  more  merit  than  the  more  sensuous,  squirmy,  crowded  and 
over-ornamented  Indian  examples.  In  the  latter  little  of  Greek  pro- 
portion and  suggestions  remains.  It  seems  fair  to  conjecture  that, 
granting  the  existence  in  Ghandara  of  great  Greco-Buddhist  frescoes,  they 
and  the  cave  works  may  have  slightly  influenced  each  other  ; the  pro- 
portion of  the  Greek  element  being  far  greater  in  the  Ghandara.  It 
would  then  happen  that  the  Horiuji  paintings,  derived  from  Ghandara, 
would  present  certain  features  that  Ghandara  shared  with  Ajunta.  It  is 
interesting  in  this  connection  to  compare  the  best  of  the  Horiuji 
compositions  with  the  classic  frescoes  unearthed  at  Pompeii  ; and  to 
realize  that  here  we  have  almost  surely  a real,  though  remote,  genetic 
connection. 

The  long  band  of  Horiuji  frescoing,  broken  only  by  the  four  doors 
which  cut  the  centre  of  the  four  walls — a band  of  some  300  feet  in 
length  by  15  in  width — is  broken  into  separate  quadrangular  com- 
positions of  varying  proportion,  the  largest  of  which  show  seated 
Buddhas,  some  with  down-falling  feet,  standing  Bodhisattwas  of  tall 
Greek  type — not  always  stiffly  in  pairs  as  members  of  a trinity,  but  in 
groups  of  two,  four  and  more — and  holy  men  as  spectators  in  the  back- 
ground, quite  as  in  the  Ghandara  fragments.  The  Buddhas’  halos  are 
circular  ; rich  painted  baldachins  overhang,  and  flying  angels  with 
backward  sweeping  drapery  descend  from  heaven  with  dropping  flowers. 
Other  groups  have  only  dignified  Bodhisattwa  without  Buddhas.  These 
always  have  the  great  domed  Greco-Buddhist  top-knot,  not  as  formal  in 
line  as  the  sculptures,  but  painted  wavy,  as  are  also  the  loose  locks  that 
fall  on  the  shoulders,  much  as  the  hair  falls  in  the  Ghandara  marble 
princes.  The  colours  are  rich  and  deep,  dark  claret  and  green  garments 
for  the  Buddhas,  and  dark  reddish  or  purple  flesh  tones  for  their  faces  ; 
but  gayer  warm  tints  for  the  bodies  and  the  faces  of  the  feminine 
types. 

Who  painted  these  unique  frescoes  we  do  not  know.  The  temple 
guess  that  it  was  Doncho,  one  of  the  Corean  priests  who  came  over  for 
Shotoku,  is  nonsense.  It  is  hardly  possible  that  any  Japanese  artist 
who  might  have  studied  in  China  could  so  perfectly  have  mastered 
an  alien  style.  It  seems  far  more  likely  that  the  author  was  either  an 


Detail  of  Frescoes  at  the  Temple 
of  Horiuji,  Nara. 


Greco-Buddhist  Sculptures  in  Stone. 
From  the  Crypt  of  the  almost  vanished 
Temple  of  Gangoji,  in  Nara. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  CHINA 


95 


imported  Chinese  master  who  had  worked  under  Michi  Itsung  or  some 
other  devotee  of  the  Khotan  style,  or  possibly  a so-called  “ Indian,” 
that  is,  not  necessarily  a native  of  India  proper,  but  an  importation  from 
Khotan  itself  or  from  farther  Turkestan.  In  either  case  we  ought 
properly  to  have  described  these  works  under  the  heading  of  Chinese 
Greco-Buddhist  art  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  chapter.  But  because 
of  their  relation  to  the  history  of  Horiuji,  and  of  their  dominating 
influence  upon  the  Greco-Buddhist  style  in  Japan,  I have  deliberately 
postponed  the  account  to  this  point.  Enough  to  say  that  the  proportion 
and  grace  of  these  painted  deities  could  never  be  made  to  coalesce 
with  the  influence  of  such  imported  sculptural  types  as  the  Udzumasa 
Buddha  and  the  Toindo  Kwannon. 

The  influence  of  these  paintings  and  of  the  small  clay  relief  upon 
Japanese  sculpture  of  the  age  of  Temmu  (673 — 688),  is  clearly  seen  in 
some  remarkable  large  reliefs  in  stone  in  the  crypt  of  the  almost  vanished 
temple  of  Gangoji  in  Nara.  These  are  deeply  chiselled  out  of  solid 
slabs  of  stone  let  into  the  wall.  The  chief  of  these  consist  of  a very 
beautiful  eleven-headed  Kwannon,  and  several  Trinities.  The  style  of 
the  Kwannon  retains  some  trace  of  the  bronze  statuettes  ; but  the  lines 
are  more  suave  and  the  proportions  are  newer.  The  figure  has  been 
cut  out  of  a niche,  and  stands  in  such  high  relief  as  almost  to  seem 
detached.  It  is  perhaps  Japan’s  finest  piece  of  stone  sculpture.  The 
Trinities  are  arranged  in  the  regular  Greco-Buddhist  style,  but  the 
spectators  are  omitted.  The  Bodhisattwa  sway  strongly  at  the  hips. 
Suiko  Ghandara  lions  crowd  up  by  the  Buddha’s  footstools.  The  flame- 
shaped halo  is  retained  from  Corean  models  ; but  within  the  Buddha’s 
is  a round  Ghandara  halo.  In  one  instance,  instead  of  a baldachin,  we 
have  the  sacred  tree  carved  in  flat  relief,  with  concentric  bands  of  leaves  ; 
a persistence  into  Buddhism  of  Han  art  derived  from  Mesopotamia. 

But  soon  a new  discovery  in  Japan  lent  weight  to  the  coming  change. 
In  708,  the  first  year  of  the  Emperor  Gemmei  of  the  Wado  period,  copper 
was  discovered  in  Japan  in  large  quantities  ; and  thus  it  became  possible 
to  make  bronze  images  of  large  size.  For  the  statuettes  of  the  preceding 
age  most  of  the  metal  had  to  be  imported.  Now  it  became  no  longer 
necessary  to  limit  the  scale  of  work,  for  which  the  Greco-Buddhist  models 
demanded  generous  proportions.  The  imported  Toindo  Corean  Kwannon 
set  the  pace  ; and  thus  in  bronze  sculpture  we  now  have  splendid  statues 
of  life-size  or  larger  replacing  the  statuettes. 


96  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

The  style  of  this  new  and  culminating  bronze  work  may  be  described 
as  a synthesis  between  the  new  Greco-Buddhist  ideals  coming  from  China, 
■and  the  qualities  of  the  statuettes  themselves.  We  have  seen  what  wonder- 
ful delicacy  of  feeling  and  what  finish  of  surface  could  be  obtained  in  the 
Trinity  with  the  angel  screen.  It  is  possible  that  some  of  the  more  graceful 
features  of  this  may  be  due  to  a first  partial  introduction  of  the  new  Greek 
forms.  But  Japan  was  rather  too  far  removed  from  the  Central  Asian 
sources  to  absorb  Ghandara  canons  in  their  purity  ; so  that  they  may  be 
said  to  have  acted  rather  in  the  way  of  enhancing,  dignifying,  and  broaden- 
ing the  excellences  already  found  in  germ  in  the  statuettes.  With  this 
modification,  Greco-Buddhist  art,  such  as  it  is,  really  comes  to  take  deeper 
root  in  Japan  than  in  China,  just  because  the  native  genius  was  more 
adapted  to  it.  In  China  it  only  advances  art  one  peg  toward  the  Tang 
culmination  of  730.  In  Japan  it  becomes  itself  the  very  culmination  of 
the  first  period. 

The  groups  of  large  bronze  deities  which  belong  to  this  culminating 
age,  Wado  and  Yoro,  from  708  to  721,  and  which  now  remain  for  our  study, 
are  chiefly  four.  The  earliest  is  probably  the  great  Kanimanji  Buddha 
already  mentioned,  which  may  possibly  be  Corean,  or  possibly  made  in 
Japan  of  Corean  metals  earlier  than  708.  This  we  have  already  described. 

The  next  group  is  the  trinity  of  colossal  statues  now  set  up  in  the 
Kodo  or  lecture  hall  of  the  temple  of  Yakushiji,  in  the  western  suburbs  of 
Nara.  The  history  of  this  most  interesting  temple  is  obscure  ; but 
probably  it  was  originally  founded  somewhat  to  the  north  of  its  present 
site  ; and  it  is  said  that  this  Kodo  trinity  was  cast  as  its  main  altar-piece. 
When  the  temple  burned  a few  years  later,  it  was  rebuilt  on  its  present  site 
about  716  ; and  aesthetic  taste  having  advanced  with  strides  during  the 
short  interval,  the  awkwardness  of  the  old  altar  group  caused  their  abandon- 
ment to  the  secondary  building  or  Kodo,  the  finer  black  trinity  being  newly 
cast  for  the  new  Kondo.  This  first  Yakushiji  trinity,  which  is  considerably 
larger  than  life,  show  clear  traces  of  its  dependence  upon  the  statuette 
model.  It  is  just  an  expansion  of  these  to  new  scale,  with  an  evident 
effort  to  achieve  new  proportions  and  realistic  modelling.  In  spite  of  such 
criticism,  the  Buddha  is  very  fine,  the  drapery  falling  over  the  shoulders 
more  in  the  Chinese  manner  than  does  that  of  the  Kanimanji  figure. 
Nothing  of  that  hard  Corean  fold  line  here  remains.  A very  original 
method  has  been  tried  in  swathing  the  upper  of  the  crossed  feet  in  their 
drapery  ; but  the  legs  and  feet  have  apparently  been  made  too  insignificant 


The  Bodhisattwa  standing  at  the  left  of  the  Yakushiji  Trinity. 

From  the  Black  Bronze  Trinity  at  Yakushiji. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  97 

and  thin,  in  trying  to  get  away  from  such  an  enormous  exaggeration  as  the 
Kanimanji  Buddha  gave  them.  The  hair  is  not  flat  as  in  the  latter,  but 
covered  with  wavy  short  curls.  The  support  is  an  immense  solid  circular 
lotos  throne,  which,  while  fine  for  statuettes,  takes  on  a certain  awkward- 
ness from  the  excessive  scale.  The  standing  Bodhisattwa  are  impressive, 
but  somewhat  fail  in  reaching  perfect  naturalness  in  the  hip-swing. 

This  old  temple  of  Yakushiji  contains  one  more  feature  which  I 
ought  to  notice  before  coming  to  the  Kondo,  and  that  is  the  ancient 
pagoda,  which  was  saved  from  the  fires  that  destroyed  the  Kondo  and 
Kodo  a few  centuries  ago,  and  perhaps  dates  from  Yoro.  It  is  unique 
in  the  varying  breadth  of  its  stories,  achieving  an  original  impression 
in  Buddhist  architecture. 

But  perhaps  the  most  powerful  aesthetic  grip  that  will  seize  the 
astonished  traveller  in  Japan  will  burst  upon  him  as  he  turns  to  the 
north,  and  enters  the  broad  open  doors  of  Yakushiji’s  Kondo  and  faces 
the  forty-foot  breadth  of  the  great  stone  altar  with  its  trinity  of  colossal 
statues  in  shining  black  bronze,  relieved  against  enormous  boat-shaped 
halos  of  gold.  These  halos  are  new,  the  original,  undoubtedly  of  bronze, 
having  been  probably  melted  in  the  great  fire.  Other  figures  of  Yakushi’s 
generals,  of  modern  clumsy  form  and  garish  colouring,  help  to  mar  the 
unity  of  the  group.  Moreover,  the  space  in  front  of  the  altar  of  the 
modern  building  is  so  narrow  that  no  single  front  view  of  the  three 
wonders  can  be  obtained.  It  is  only  by  photographing  them  far  at  the 
side  that  we  can  obtain  them  in  a single  composition,  by  no  means 
their  best  view.  We  must  be  content  then  to  study  each  for  itself — 
premising  that  the  whole  group  is  made  of  a black  polished  bronze — 
perhaps  the  same  alloy  heavy  in  gold  called  Shakudo,  and  often  used 
for  small  sword  ornaments — as  black  as  ebony,  and  which  the  con- 
flagration could  only  slightly  injure. 

Taking  the  Bodhisattwa  first — the  Sun  and  Moon  goddess,  so-called, 
who  attend  Yakushi  as  Kwannon  and  Seishido  Amida — we  may  say 
that  every  precaution  has  been  taken  to  guard  against  the  defects  of 
preceding  examples,  large  and  small.  The  figures,  of  perfect  grace  and 
restrained  sway,  are  neither  attenuated  nor  stout,  but  of  solid,  sub- 
stantial proportion,  the  head  given  dignity  by  the  specially  large 
Greek  top-knot.  The  muscular  contours  of  the  body  are  revealed  with 
perfect  restraint.  The  drapery  about  the  legs  is  far  freer  and  purer 
in  fold  than  the  Toindo  model.  The  double  curved  systems  of  linked 


98  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

jewels,  and  of  the  thin  mantles,  are  so  perfected  and  harmonized  as  to 
carry  the  beauties  of  the  screen  trinity  up  to  the  grandeur  of  the 
new  scale.  They  are,  perhaps,  the  finest  standing  bronze  figures  of  the 
whole  world.  The  chasing  of  the  surfaces  of  hair  and  crown  give  a 
splendid  contrast  of  dusty  colour  with  the  liquid  black  of  the  flesh. 

The  Buddha  is  a splendid  compromise  in  proportions  between  the 
big  head  and  legs  of  Kanimanji,  and  the  weak  features  of  the  Kodo. 
The  lines  of  drapery  have  less  decorative  depth  than  the  screen 
trinity.  The  head  is  modelled  into  a splendid  front  oval,  but  gives 
a sharp  profile  quite  like  the  Udzumasa  clay  Yakushi.  The  flow  of 
the  drapery  over  the  left  arm  and  across  the  left  knee  is  as  beautiful 
as  the  rhythms  in  a genuine  Greek  statue.  The  left  hand,  too,  is 
as  beautifully  modelled  as  the  Buddha’s  of  the  screen,  and,  although 
being  webbed,  of  more  realistic  proportions. 

A word  must  be  added  about  the  great  massive  bronze  box  or 
throne,  upon  which  the  Yakushi  sits,  and  over  the  front  of  which  his 
falling  drapery  pours.  This  is  unique  in  Asiatic  art,  and  hard  to 
classify,  though  it  seems  pretty  clear  that  its  elements  must  have  come 
in  with  waves  from  Chinese  Tang  concomitant  with  Greco-Buddhist. 
The  edge  of  the  upper  projecting  band  is  beautifully  done  in  vine 
scroll-work,  strongly  recalling  the  grape-vine  mirrors,  and  very  close 
to  the  grape-vine  scrolls  of  later  Greek  work.  The  panelled  rosettes, 
lozenges  and  crosses  of  the  four  other  bands,  also  in  low  relief,  bear 
relation  to  primitive  designs  found  among  the  tribes  that  live  along 
the  Amoor  region,  and  which  we  find  in  some  Han  decoration.  A 
long  low  writhing  dragon,  in  the  middle  of  one  of  the  side  bands, 
seems  to  be  a transition  trom  the  dragon  type  of  Han  to  that  of 
Tang.  But  the  most  remarkable  and  unique  features  are  the  groups 
of  crouching  figures,  two  and  two,  set  within  decorative  Buddhist  arches. 

These  show  a most  realistic  representation  of  dwarfed  figures  of  some 
negrito  race,  nearly  naked,  and  with  enormous  heads  of  fuzzy  hair 
like  the  Somali  peoples  in  Africa,  or  the  Negritos  of  Borneo,  Australia, 
or  the  Philippines.  It  seems  as  if  these  have  been  studied  as  types 
of  a lower  world,  sub-human,  which  Buddhism  came  to  dominate,  or, 
as  a theosophist  would  say,  relics  of  a third  race.  It  is  probable 
that  the  genius  of  the  artist  here  substituted  these  realistic  forms  for 
the  Greco-Buddhist  dwarfs  or  imps.  But  the  most  incredible  feature 
of  all  is  the  built-up  pillar  at  the  back,  held  by  a grotesque  figure  with 


Yakushiji  Black  Bronze  Trinity 

seen  in  profile. 


99 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN 

fish  tails  instead  of  legs.  This  seems  indeed  to  be  a deliberate  re- 
importation, based  upon  contemporary  studies  of  Polynesian  life,  of  the 
principle  in  ornament  of  the  totem  pole.  It  is  of  course  more 
beautifully  and  conventionally  rounded  than  in  any  Polynesian  specimens. 

Taking  the  Yakushiji  group  as  a whole,  it  does  not  seem  extrava- 
gant to  say  that  its  aesthetic  value  would  alone  repay  a student  the 
whole  time  and  expense  of  a trip  from  America  to  Japan.  What  a 
ripe  genius  its  author  must  have  been  ! And  fortunately  we  know  him, 
the  third  identifiable  personality  in  our  list  of  great  Japanese  sculptors, 
coming  nearly  a century  after  Tori  Busshi  and  Shotoku  Taishi.  He  is 
Giogi,  called  for  his  marvellous  wisdom,  “ Bosatsu  ” or  Bodhisattwa. 
Not  only  was  he  an  artist,  but  a great  prelate,  and  a great  statesman 
and  adviser  of  the  Japanese  emperors.  Fortunately,  too,  we  have  his 
portrait  statue  in  wood,  the  work  of  his  own  hand,  which,  in  spite  of 
its  crumbling  paint,  reveals  the  same  splendid  plastic  use  of  drapery 
that  we  find  in  his  Yakushi.  The  portrait  is  to  be  found  in  Saidaiji, 
north  of  Yakushiji. 

In  order  to  understand  how  these  brief  periods  of  Wado  and 
Yoro  really  contain  the  first  aesthetic  flowering  of  the  Japanese  race,  we 
must  remember  that  a great  activity  in  literary  form  accompanied 
these  triumphs  of  sculpture.  At  this  time  lived  the  two  supreme 
masters  of  early  Japanese  poetry,  Hitomaro  and  Akahito.  The 
Manyoshiu,  the  first  great  Japanese  anthology,  began  as  a private 
collection  in  the  family  of  Yakamochi  Otomo,  grew  by  accretion  and 
was  published,  probably  between  750  and  760  a.d.  The  Kojiki,  a 
reduction  from  traditions  of  the  religious  annals  of  Japan,  was  com- 
pleted in  712.  The  first  critical  history  of  Japan  as  a whole,  the 
Nihonji,  was  printed  in  720.  It  was  a wonderful  outburst  of  intellect 
and  refined  feeling,  on  its  literary  side  almost  pure  Japanese,  and 
unrelated  to  the  great  contemporary  Chinese  literary  outburst  of 
Tang.  That  is,  Chinese  ideals  had  not  yet  penetrated  Japanese 
literature,  as  they  had  Japanese  Buddhist  art. 

To  add  new  evidence  of  how  this  illumination  worked  toward 
perfect  and  original  art,  especially  bronze,  we  must  point  to  the 
Kagenkei,  that  wonderful  hanging  bronze  drum,  whicn  is  one  of  the 
treasures  of  the  Shinto  temple  at  Kasuga.  It  is  a circular  bronze 
drum  suspended  between  the  interlaced  bodies  of  two  dragons,  which 
twine  upward  from  a stem  which  rests  upon  a lotos  saddle  on  the 


ioo  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

back  of  a crouching  dog-like  figure,  probably  a Buddhist  lion.  The 
modelling  is  all  as  vigorous  and  rich  as  a Benvenuto  Cellini,  with- 
out any  of  his  rococo  exuberance.  In  restraint  it  is  more  like  the 
Mercury  of  John  of  Bologna.  These  are  typical  dragons  of  Tang; 
and  the  working  out  of  their  scaly  folds  and  of  fanciful  reptilian 

legs  is  as  realistic  as  if  it  had  been  mastered  in  long  study  at  a 

zoological  garden.  The  concentric  relief  bands  of  the  drum,  covered 
with  rich  scroll  work,  and  its  fine  lotos  centre  recall  the  moonstones 
of  Ceylon  and  their  antecedents  in  Mesopotamia. 

But  it  should  not  be  supposed  that  the  aesthetic  triumphs  of 
this  day  are  confined  to  sculpture  in  bronze.  Several  other  substances 
lent  themselves  readily  to  the  plastic  genius  of  Japan,  foremost  being 
the  medium  of  clay,  which  had  been  used  in  various  forms  and 
textures  in  China,  in  Khotan,  in  Ghandara,  in  Baktria,  in  Tanagra, 

and  in  Nineveh.  This  Japanese  clay  is  of  a beautiful  light  silvery- 
grey,  unbaked,  composed  of  sifted  Nara  earth  mixed  with  finely 
shredded  paper  fibre.  It  yields  with  ease  to  the  thumb,  takes  a 

polished  surface  that  hardens  with  mere  drying,  and  resists  ordinary 
atmospheric  disintegration. 

A large  number  of  statuettes  in  this  new  material  — invented 
apparently  for  the  very  purpose  of  introducing  the  Greco-Buddnist 

forms,  and  based  upon  such  importations  as  the  Udzumasa  Buddha — 
are  found  in  several  striking  groups  set  with  modelled  landscape 
background  in  the  lowest  story  of  the  Horiuji  pagoda.  Here  are 

little  Greco  top-knotted  angels  sitting  about,  and  Bodhisattwa  mingled 
with  kings,  saints  and  mediaeval  monks.  The  Nirvana  scene,  among 
others,  is  thus  worked  out  into  detail  ; many  of  these  clay  figures 
of  priests  in  deep  sorrow  being  naive  and  even  comic,  but  fine  in 

action.  The  last  is  especially  true  of  the  man  who  throws  himself 
over  backwards.  These  groups  are  probably  early,  and  may  date  from 
the  very  rebuilding  of  Horiuji. 

Another  and  more  striking  set  are  the  “ i 2 generals  ” accompanying 
Yakushi,  life-sized  statues  which  were  originally  set  about  the  great 

circular  clay  altar  of  Shin  Yakushiji  at  Nara,  These  are  12  militant 
figures  in  violent  attitudes,  some  of  them  with  spears,  some  with 
swords,  and  some  arrows.  Their  costume  seems  based  upon  the 
primitive  Khotan  Bisjamons,  with  variations  undoubtedly  Chinese. 
Here  too  must  lie  great  play  of  Japanese  fancy,  for  no  two  attitudes 


The  “ Kagenkei,”  or  Hanging  Bronze  Drum, 
at  the  Shinto  Temple  of  Kasuga,  Nara. 


A Mass  of  Broken  Statues  and  Interesting  Refuse, 
such  as  was  found  by  Professor  Fenollosa  in 
the  year  1880,  at  Shodaiji. 


IOI 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN 

are  in  the  least  alike.  The  finest  is  probably  the  figure  with  the 

long  upraised  arm.  This  temple  was  restored  at  the  expense  of 
the  Japanese  Government  several  years  ago,  so  that  it  is  specially 
interesting  n^w  to  see  the  photographs  taken  in  the  early  ’eighties 
with  the  dim  figures  of  gigantic  Bodhisattwas  looming  up  under  the 
dark  apexed  space  of  the  octagonal  pavilion. 

Still  finer  in  modelling  and  preservation  are  the  four  life-sized 
guardians  (Shi  Ten  O or  “Four  Deva  Kings”)  which  are  set  upon 
the  great  raised  altar  of  the  Kaidando  (Baptistery)  of  Todaiji  in 
Nara.  So  vigorous  is  their  action  that  they  seem  almost  veritable 
photographs  of  scowling  Chinese  knights  in  armour.  So  fine  is  their 
modelling  that  the  effect  is  given  of  perfect  marble  sculpture.  The 
hands  have  been  broken  and  restored,  and  what  they  hold  is  modern. 
But  the  faces,  bodies  and  hair  are  nearly  perfect.  Especially  fine 
is  the  action  of  the  figure  which  holds  up  a pagoda  in  his  raised 
right  palm  ; and  his  Greco  top-knot  is  striking.  Another  has  his 
head  completely  covered  in  a fine  Chinese  helmet.  All  these  figures 
stand  upon  the  bodies  of  misshapen  brutal  imps,  the  very  ideal  of 
what  our  “ theosophists ” call  an  “elemental.”  It  is  probable  that 
in  these  fine  statues  we  have  very  close  approximation  to  Chinese 
originals ; and  we  can  therefore  feel  that  we  are  in  them  virtually 
studying  the  art  of  early  Tang. 

Another  single  statue  of  the  violent  type  is  the  Mace  thrower — 
Shikkougo-Shin,  a kind  of  Buddhist  Thor — kept  in  the  adjunct 
pavilion  of  Sangetsudo  in  the  grounds  of  Todaiji.  This  shows  the 
utmost  passion  of  battle  in  the  face.  The  muscles  and  tendons  of 
the  arms  and  of  the  elevated  fists  are  worked  to  the  utmost  per- 
fection of  the  veins.  The  lines  of  the  flying  drapery,  though 
somewhat  broken,  are  so  fine  that  we  are  inclined  to  place  this  as 
contemporary  with  the  culminating  black  bronze  Trinity  of  Yakushiji, 
and  to  conjecture  that  it  may  be  the  work  of  Giogi  himself.  The 
original  painting  over  the  clay  has  been  almost  perfectly  preserved, 
giving  detailed  textures  and  patterns — the  damascening  of  the  gorget — 
the  scales  of  the  waist  piece,  and  the  brocade  arabesques  of  the  close- 
fitting  shirt. 

But  the  finest  pieces  that  have  come  down  to  us,  doubtless  also  the 
work  of  the  culminating  periods  Wado  and  Yoro,  are  the  large, 
even  sometimes  colossal,  Bodhisattwa  in  clay  ; especially  the  two 


io2  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

large  figures  with  hands  clasped  in  prayer,  upon  the  great  altar  of 
Sangetsudo.  If  one  has  been  sceptical  of  any  real  Greek  influence 

up  to  this  point,  he  will  be  converted  on  beholding  these  so-called 
statues  of  Brahma  and  Indra  (Bonten  and  Taishaku).  This  is 
probably  a misnomer ; for  the  figures  are  the  most  feminine  of  all 
early  sculpture,  feminine  in  the  sense  of  grand  solid  proportions  that 
bring  them  into  a sort  of  rivalry  with  the  Parthenon  torsos  and 
the  Venus  of  Milo.  Of  course  we  must  remember,  in  the  case  of 
these  as  in  the  case  of  the  black  trinity,  that  the  ideal  is  necessarily 
different  from  the  classic,  translating  the  suggestion  of  the  human 
into  godlike  proportion,  rather  than  reducing  the  godlike  to  the 
typical  human.  Nevertheless,  the  deep  modelled  drapery  folds  seem 
as  fine  as  the  best  of  archaic  Greek,  and  the  low  relief  of  the 
knotted  girdle  is  as  delicate  as  the  angels  of  the  screen  trinity. 
The  faces,  too,  have  the  sweet  nobility  of  the  little  Bodhisattwa  in 

that  statuette  group,  the  profiles  being  especially  beautiful.  We 
must  rank  these  as  the  finest  work  of  the  day  along  with  the  Yakushiji 
colossi. 

We  come  now  to  the  great  age  of  Nara,  which  the  Japanese 
vaguely  identify  by  the  period  name  Tempei.  But  the  age  begins  yet 
earlier  than  Tempei,  with  the  accession  of  the  Emperor  Shomu  in  724, 
who  was  destined  to  rule  till  his  death  in  748,  which  is  also  the  last 
year  of  Tempei  proper.  We  should  better  designate  this  as  the  age  of 
Shomu  ; but  it  is  something  of  a mistake  to  regard  it  as  an  assthetic 

culmination.  No  doubt  it  was  Japan’s  first  age  of  really  imperial 

splendour  : Shomu’s  new  capital,  Nara,  covering  some  thirty-five  square 
miles  and  having  more  than  a million  people.  Shomu  himself  was  the 
nearest  to  an  imperial  autocrat  that  Japan  ever  saw.  He  was  supreme 
king,  general,  judge,  and  priest  in  one.  Moreover,  his  reign  was  con- 
temporary with  the  central  part  of  that  romantic  Chinese  reign  of 
Genso  (713-756)  which  is  the  real  absolute  culmination  of  Chinese 
genius.  It  was  followed  by  the  great  decay  of  life  and  ideals  under  the 
Emperor  Kobun.  Why,  then,  should  we  not  regard  it,  as  writers  have 
generally  done,  to  be  the  first  flowering  age  of  Japanese  genius  also? 

The  difference  in  the  cases  of  China  and  Japan — between  Genso 
and  Shomu — is  that  the  former  was  formulating  and  organizing  new 
forces  from  within,  already  superseding  the  somewhat  alien  Greco- 
Buddhism  with  stronger  nation  growths  ; but  that  the  latter  had  no 


The  Sangetsudo  “Mace-thrower 

at  Todaiji. 


Large  Clay  Figure  of  a Bodhisattwa, 

SOMETIMES  CALLED  “BONTEN.” 

Temple  of  Sangetsudo. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  103 

new  elements  from  within  to  incorporate,  and  became  partially  cut  off 
from  that  new  Central  China  of  Tang  which  might  have  supplied  new 
motive.  Hence,  Shomu,  who  at  once  removed  the  national  capital  to 
Nara,  thought  only  of  gathering  up  and  enjoying  the  fruits  of  previous 
contact  with  the  continent.  In  his  early  years  he  abolished  the  practice, 
begun  by  Tenchi,  of  sending  Japanese  students  to  study  abroad.  The 
new  literature  had  already  given  Japan  a kind  of  self-consciousness. 
China  was  herself  partially  divided  between  Buddhist  and  Confucian 
camps.  Shomu  determined  to  reign  in  independent  splendour  as  the 
sole  great  Buddhist  potentate  of  his  day.  His  superstitious  reign 
reminds  us  somewhat  of  the  early  Chinese  Emperor  Butei  of  Liang. 

Moreover,  inspiration  was  already  succumbing  to  splendour  and  the 
temptations  of  imperial  favour.  The  demoralization  of  Koken  was 
already  beginning.  The  great  poet  Hitomaro  died  during  the  first  year 
of  Shomu.  The  great  artist  Giogi  had  passed  away.  The  nation  was 
rather  cut  off  from  a new  supply  of  Chinese  and  Corean  genius.  Even 
its  Buddhist  principles  were  not  deeply  and  soundly  enough  rooted. 
Culture  was  based  rather  on  sentiment  than  on  character.  The  young 
Japanese  nation  could  not  know  that  luxury  and  success  were  really 
the  greatest  enemies  of  supreme  art.  Yet  the  undermining  forces  did 
not  clearly  reveal  themselves  during  Shomu’s  earlier  years. 

The  use  of  clay,  as  an  alternative  medium  for  sculpture  with  bronze, 
apparently  did  not  last  late  into  Shomu’s  reign.  A new  and  purely 
Japanese  substitute  for  it  was  now  invented,  whose  greater  tenacity  and 
lighter  weight  made  it  possible  to  build  and  move  really  colossal  statues 
from  place  to  place.  This  was  a method  of  hollow  sculpture  worked  in  a 
kind  of  lacquer  composition;  A high  wooden  frame  was  first  covered  with 
planes  of  coarse  cloth  soaked  in  glue,  which  could  be  made  to  harden  into 
the  primary  blocking  of  the  statue.  Over  this  was  modelled  by  thumb 
and  spatula  successive  layers,  progressively  refined  in  texture,  of  a mixture 
of  lacquer  juice  with  powdered  bark.  This  could  be  made  in  the  lower 
contours  as  thin  as  paper,  but  deepened  for  the  relief  portions.  The 
lacquer  dried  to  the  hardness  of  rock,  and  could  be  finished  in  shining 
black,  gold  leaf,  or  heavy  oil  paint.  When  finished,  a life-size  statue 
weighed  only  a few  pounds.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  favourite 
substance  for  artists,  especially  during  the  earlier  years  of  Shomu.  Its 
danger  lay  in  making  the  core  of  wooden  supports  too  stiff  to  bring  out 
all  the  graces  of  action  ; but  this  defect  hardly  appeared  at  first.  Several 


io4  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

hundred  statues  in  this  form,  large  and  small,  whole  or  in  fragments, 
still  remain  in  the  great  temples  about  Nara,  especially  in  Horiuji, 
Sangatsudo,  Akishino,  and  Kofukuji.  The  Dembodo  pavilion  of  Horiuji 
is  largely  filled  with  such,  mostly  in  gilt  finish.  The  others  are  mostly 
painted.  The  guardian  Kings  of  Sangatsudo  and  some  of  the  gilt 
Bodhisattwa  are  eighteen  feet  in  height. 

One  of  the  most  beautifully  modelled,  hardly  inferior  to  the  clay  “ Indra,” 
yet  showing  the  Shomu  modification  of  the  Greco-Buddhist  top-knot  in 
locks  that  play  loose  about  the  domed  excrescence,  is  the  seated  Bodhisattwa 
owned  by  the  Art  School  in  Tokio.  Here  the  pure  plastic  of  the  thumbing 
is  only  surpassed  by  the  Chinese  indigenous  clay  Buddha.  The  somewhat 
bronzy  stiffness  of  finish  that  still  lingers  in  the  Japanese  clay  pieces  is 
here  thrown  away.  But  the  very  facility  of  execution  leads  to  a certain 
picturesque  carelessness  in  the  composition. 

The  Dembodo  statues  are  mostly  in  gilded  trinities,  and  a little  smaller 
than  life.  The  best  set  of  these  has  a grace  and  finish  almost  worthy  of 
Giogi  and  his  black  bronzes.  The  top-knot  breaks  with  a special  catch  in 
the  centre  part.  In  the  Bodhisattwa,  whose  top-knot  and  left  arm  are  broken, 
the  beautiful  plastic  play  of  the  drapery  over  the  shoulder  give  us  the 
feeling  of  a Roman  emperor’s  portrait  statue.  Since  the  day  in  1880  when 
I first  discovered  it,  I have  always  affectionately  called  it  “ Caesar.”  The 
slim  painted  composition  statues  upon  the  altar  of  the  Chukondo  at  Kofukuji 
in  Nara,  are  of  the  generals  of  Yakushi  and  of  priests.  The  broken 
statues  already  illustrated  are  of  this  series.  Their  faces  have  a small 
boyish  Indian  look  which  gives  them  a naive  charm.  Tradition  has  it  that 
their  modeller  was  an  Indian  priest  who  came  directly  to  the  world’s  new 
Buddhist  Constantine,  Shomu,  rather  than  to  China.  The  finest  priest’s 
statue  with  the  small  Indian  head  is  probably  his  self  portrait. 

To  this  early  Shomu  age,  say  of  724  to  740,  belongs  also  the  rare 
humorous  bronze  group  of  two  priests,  one  praying,  and  one  walking 
slowly  and  sanctimoniously  with  a censer.  The  drapery  is  of  the  very 
finest  cast  and  modelling. 

But  the  true  Japanese  substance — as  it  was  also  the  leading  Chinese 
substance — for  Buddhist  statues,  and  especially  for  those  of  Shomu’s 
later  days,  was  undoubtedly  wood.  We  find  wood  used  only  exception- 
ally and  chiefly  for  the  rare  eleven-headed  Kwannons,  in  the  Suiko, 
Yomei,  and  Seimei  eras  (593  to  66 7).  In  the  following  reigns,  includ- 
ing the  Empresses  Gemmei  of  Wado  and  Gensei  of  Yoro,  wood  remained 


Seated  Lacquer  Figure. 

Now  in  the  Tokio  Fine  Arts  School. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  105 

quite  subordinated  to  bronze  and  clay.  But  by  the  early  years  of 
Shomu’s  reign,  the  eleven-headed  Kwannon  was  promoted  to  stand 
among  the  chief  of  Nara’s  deities  ; and  for  it  the  retained  material  of 
wood  was  carved  with  all  the  new  grace  of  Giogi  himself.  Here,  too, 
the  feminine  attributes  of  this  favourite,  almost  one  might  say  the 
motherly  quality  ot  her — corresponding  on  the  one  side  to  the  fecundity 
of  the  Ephesian  Diana,  on  the  other  to  the  mediaeval  Virgin  of 
Europe — became  more  strongly  marked  than  in  any  Buddhist  statue 
outside  of  India. 

The  earliest,  most  beautiful,  and  most  Greek  of  these  wooden 
Juichimans  is  the  sumptuously-modelled  figure  of  the  Itsushi  Island,  in 
Lake  Biwa.  Here  the  chief  face  is  most  sweet  and  beautiful,  the  figure 
splendidly  swaying,  the  contours  of  the  upper  nude  body  suggesting 
rather  than  realizing  the  female  bosom,  the  action  of  the  hand  in  hold- 
ing the  large  bottle  fine.  The  profile  is  equally  splendid,  showing  traces 
of  the  antique  depression  of  the  thorax.  All  the  drapery  lines  are  as 
graceful  as  the  finest  bronzes.  This  is  the  finest  wooden  statue,  and 
may  possibly  belong  to  the  Yoro  epoch. 

Later  in  Shomu’s  career,  when  he  had  become  quite  absorbed  in  temple 
erections,  his  young  wife,  the  Empress  Komio,  said  to  be  the  most 
beautiful  woman  of  Japan,  entered  into  his  enthusiasm,  and  is  said  at 
times  to  have  become  possessed  by  the  spirit  of  the  eleven-headed 
Kwannon,  her  person  at  such  moments  of  inspiration  glowing  like  gold. 
Other  tradition  has  it  that  she  used  this  alleged  piety  as  a cloak  for 
scandalous  intimacy  with  one  of  Shomu’s  priests.  It  is  generally  believed 
that  she  allowed  her  unveiled  person  to  be  used  as  a model  for  a 
Juichiman  Kwannon,  which  is  generally  identified  with  the  statue  of 
Hokkuji,  that  evidently  belongs  to  Shomu’s  middle  or  later  period. 
But  this,  though  it  has  much  effeminate  grace  and  unique  fancy  in  the 
draperies  that  engulf  the  legs  as  in  a whirlwind,  does  not  seem  quite 
feminine  or  beautiful  enough  to  have  been  made  from  the  alleged  model. 
The  Lake  Biwa  Kwannon,  though  the  most  feminine,  would  seem  to 
be  too  early  for  this  episode.  Somewhat  less  feminine,  though  almost 
equally  beautiful,  is  the  eleven-headed  Kwannon  of  the  Toindo  at 
Yakushiji,  which  formerly  occupied  a niche  at  the  side  of  the  big 
Corean  bronze.  The  white  priming  of  this  gives  the  impression  of 
marble.  The  figure  is  so  light  and  graceful,  almost  seeming  to  poise 
against  wind  currents,  that  1 have  sometimes  likened  it  to  the  most 

VOL.  1.  k 


1 06  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

graceful  tall  French  Gothic  statues  upon  the  facades  of  Amiens  and 
Rheims.  Indeed,  this  Japanese  naturalization  of  far-away  Greek  types 
so  parallels  the  mediaeval  unconsciousness  of  the  classic  tradition  that 
remotely  conditioned  its  work,  as  to  justify  us  in  adopting  for  this 
style,  if  not  for  the  Greco-Buddhist  art  as  a whole,  “ the  Buddhist 
Gothic.”  Mr.  Cram  has  independently  noted  this  parallelism  in  this 
suggestive  term. 

But  the  wooden  sculpture  of  Shomu  was  far  from  being  limited 
to  such  graceful  feminine  forms  as  Juichimans.  Buddhas,  Bodhisattwas, 
Deva  kings,  priests,  knights  of  Yakushiji’s,  elementals,  and  a dozen 
other  forms,  sought  to  realise  plastic  beauty  under  the  carver’s  tool. 
As  the  reign  passes  towards  its  close,  these  forms  grow  stouter  and 
heavier,  a proportion  that,  for  male  figures  especially,  is  not  without 
ts  dignity.  These  are  found  everywhere  in  temples  throughout 
Yamato  province,  the  most  notable  being  in  temples  erected  or 
re-dedicated  in  Shomu’s  own  Tempei,  many  of  them  being  in  a half- 
ruinous  condition.  As  temples  fell  or  were  burned,  those  statues, 
or  parts  of  them,  which  could  be  saved  were  transferred  to  neigh- 
bouring sites.  In  this  way  we  find  some  splendid  heavy,  semi-Greek 
male  figures  in  Todaiji,  Shodaiji,  Yakushiji,  and  Akishino.  The  Kondo 
of  Shodaiji  is  almost  filled  with  them — knights,  Indras,  and  Buddhas. 
The  sweetly  stooping  Bodhisattwa  of  Art  at  Akishino  is  a specially 
well-preserved  example.  But  to  get  a conception  of  the  masses  of 

remains  of  such  statues,  it  is  necessary  to  see  the  photograph  which 
I took  in  1882  of  the  rubbish  heaps  at  the  back  of  the  Chukondo 
altar,  and  the  Tokondo  also,  at  Kofukuji.  Here  the  broken  “bones” 
of  composition  statues  mingle  with  splendid  contours  of  Buddha  torsoes 
or  the  armour  of  knights.  It  is  possible  that  what  remains  to  us 
to-day  is  only  a very  small  percentage  of  what  once  existed. 

Here  is  perhaps  the  place  to  say  a word  upon  the  nature  of  the 
Bodhisattwa  in  general  as  worshipped  in  this  early  Nara  Buddhism, 
and  of  its  special  adaptability  for  sculpturesque  types.  The  general 
Buddhist  idea  of  a Bodhisattwa  is  of  a being  who  has  advanced  so 
far  in  the  scale  of  wisdom  and  insight,  and  the  renunciation  of  fleshly 
ties,  as  to  be  just  on  the  point  of  entrance  into  Nirvana  and  salva- 
tion. Spoken  of  human  beings,  it  means  their  last  earthly  incarnation. 
But  it  comes  to  have  a much  more  special  sense  in  Northern 
Buddhism : namely,  a being  who,  though  having  the  right  to  enter 


Three  Humorous  Imps. 
At  Kofukuji 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  107 

Nirvana,  deliberately  renounces  it,  electing  to  work  under  the  conditions 
and  possibly  renewed  temptations  of  the  world,  for  the  love  of  one’s 
fellow-man  or  of  the  whole  sentient  world.  It  thus  denotes  a new 
kind  of  renunciation,  the  renunciation  of  renunciation,  or  rather  the 
renunciation  of  salvation.  In  so  doing  it  ceases  to  be  negative  and 
self-seeking,  entering  upon  a positive  and  masterful  path  of  love  and 
help.  The  Bodhisattwa  vow  in  Northern  Buddhism,  especially  in  the 
Tendai  sect,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter,  is  a vow  made  as 
early  as  baptism  to  lead  the  strenuous  path  of  battling  for  the  right, 
to  consecrate  one’s  career  throughout  any  number  of  necessary  incar- 
nations to  loving  service.  The  Bodhisattwa  idea,  therefore,  comes 
very  near  to  the  Christ  idea. 

Now  if  a soul  should,  not  rising  in  evolutional  course  from 
man,  but  descending  in  special  dispensation  from  a paradise  already 
attained,  devote  itself  to  such  loving  service  without  the  need  of  more 
than  occasional  incarnation , it  would  become  a Bodhisattwa  of  a higher 
type,  still  more  Christlike — a perpetual  Bodhisattwa,  so  to  speak — a 
great  spirit  making  for  love  and  righteousness,  invisible  to  man,  bu' 
assisting  him,  whose  answer  to  man’s  prayer  comes  with  every 

accelerating  throb  of  human  devotion.  Such  a Bodhisattwa  would  become 
worshipped  as  a sort  of  personification  of  the  great  moral  or  spiritual 
principle  for  which  he  specially  stood.  Such  a Bodhisattwa  would  be 
Aizu,  the  spirit  of  love;  Bisjamon,  the  spirit  of  courage;  Jizo,  the 
spirit  of  pity,  particularly  of  care  for  little  children  ; Manju,  the 
Bodhisattwa  of  wisdom,  or  spiritual  interpretation  ; Kwannon,  the 
Bodhisattwa  of  providence,  sustenance,  and  salvation  from  physical 
evil.  So  there  are  Bodhisattwas  of  fortitude,  piety,  church  organiza- 
tion, faith,  domestic  peace,  and,  as  we  have  just  seen,  of  beauty  and 
art.  The  simple  attitude  of  the  Suiko  and  Nara  congregations  may 
be  said  to  have  regarded  these  virtues  and  graces,  not  as  ethical 
abstractions  in  their  souls,  but  as  living  and  gracious  spiritual  presences, 
with  just  personality  enough  to  pray  to.  It  is  the  idyllic  deification 
of  all  the  good  in  man  and  society. 

Now  to  have  turned  this  Pantheon  of  gods  into  an  equally  gracious 
group  of  aesthetic  types  was  just  the  kind  of  achievement  that  a great 
fresh  sculptural  genius  would  be  adequate  for.  Their  semi-personality 
made  adaptable  the  Greco  - Buddhist  degree  of  achievement  in  per- 
sonal realism  ; while  their  vast  generalization  into  moral  types  could  utilise 

k 2 


108  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

to  the  full  the  formal,  preter-human  beauty  of  sculptural  conventions. 
For  such  Bodhisattwa,  abstractions  named  with  worship,  such  gifted 
sculpture  as  the  triumphs  of  Yoro  seems  to  offer  an  utterly  sympathetic 
form.  These  lofty  serene  presences  in  bronze,  clay,  and  wood  seem 
themselves  to  be  just  the  very  personification  of  great  principles  that 
make  for  righteousness.  We  shall  see,  in  later  chapters,  how  the 
Bodhisattwa  idea  undergoes  change  or  evolution  toward  new  forms,  which 
equally  well  relate  themselves  to  new  arts. 

The  latter  days  of  Shomu’s  art  carried  the  tendency  toward  heaviness 
and  coarseness  to  a much  greater  degree.  It  would  seem  as  if  the 
drying  up  of  spiritual  grace  reduced  to  gradual  insipidity  assthetic  grace. 
The  order  of  741  to  build  temples  and  found  monasteries  and  Buddhist 
colleges  in  every  province  of  the  empire,  required  hasty  work  to  fulfil. 
The  great  Chinese  and  Corean  models  became  lost  in  the  copying  of 
copies.  As,  in  the  decay  of  Roman  art,  the  loss  of  spacing  and  fine 
rhythms  was  not  perceived.  The  standard  of  taste  itself  had  become 
perverted. 

The  growing  stiffness  and  materiality  are  well  illustrated  in  the  large 
painted  wooden  Kwannon,  with  body,  head  and  flame  halo,  which  stands 

at  the  back  of  the  Horiuji  Kondo  altar,  not  far  from  the  attenuated 

Corean  Kwannon.  It  goes  through  the  motions  of  being  Greco- 
Buddhist,  but  its  graces  and  rhythms  are  hard  and  unimaginative.  It 
falls  below  the  art  of  Yoro  much  as  Syrian  Greek  falls  below  Attic. 

Another  phase  of  this  decaying  art  is  the  grotesques.  These  are 

exemplified  in  the  Shi  Ten  O of  Nanzendo  at  Kofukuji.  Their  clever 
attitudes  suggest  the  pompous  energy  of  small  conceited  men.  Their 
bodies  have  now  become  so  thick  that  the  neck  has  disappeared  within 
the  collar  of  the  gorget.  Still  another  and  charming  phase  is  given  in 
the  sacred  masks,  mostly  from  the  Kasuga  collection,  which  mingle 
prehistoric  Shinto  types,  related  to  Alaskan  and  Philippine  dance 
masks,  with  Indian  and  Bodhisattwa  types.  Here  are  Greek  comic 
masks,  side  by  side  with  the  bird-snouts  and  the  long-nosed  murder 
types  of  Pacific  art.  But  the  skill  of  their  carving  is  the  skill  of 
Tempei.  And  the  much  later  masks  of  the  No  comedies  are  only 
weakened  adaptations  of  suggestions  from  these. 

Still  another  phase  of  the  late  Tempei  sculpture  is  the  realistic 
representation  of  child  life  and  female  life,  whether  dignified  as  Buddhist 
forms  or  as  mere  portraits.  For  example,  the  little  over-elaborate  and 


Panel  from  the  great  Bronze  Lantern  in  front  of 
the  Dai  Butsu  Temple  at  Nara. 


\ 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  109 

heavily  bejewelled  statues  which  the  learned  editor  of  Shimbi  Taikwan 
calls  “ Soi,  the  Indian  goddess  of  Fortune,”  are  manifestly  modelled 
after  little  fat  Japanese  girls,  with  one  of  the  coiffures  of  the  day, 
the  long  hair  falling  over  the  shoulders  in  thick  locks.  These  are 
coloured  like  nature.  And  there  are  corresponding  paintings  of  “ Soi  ” 
with  flesh  half-modelled,  as  in  European  and  our  supposed  Khotan 
art.  Other  paintings,  more  Buddhistic  but  not  the  least  Greco- 
Buddhist,  show  probably  a mixture  of  Chinese  and  Corean  traits. 
These  are  only  hair  outlines,  but  all  the  drapery  falls  into  hard, 
wiry,  formal  curves,  of  no  force  and  little  beauty,  which  attract  the 
eye  with  a gaudiness  of  colour  and  minute  patterns  of  colour  on 
colour  which  are  much  like  the  painted  patterns  on  the  clay  Kongoji 
and  the  colossal  composition  pieces  of  Sangatsudo.  Between  these  fall 
the  drawings  of  the  ladies  upon  the  few  screens  that  remain  in 
Shosoin.  These  have  eyes  near  together,  as  in  the  Buddhist  fat  types, 
but  hair  falling  over  the  head  in  great  bags,  as  in  the  sculptured 
“ Soi’s.”  Other  fine  portrait  statues  of  this  day  are  those  of  priests, 
as  of  Ganshin  Washo,  the  founder  of  Shodaiji,  who  is  there  worshipped. 

One  of  the  last  great  acts  of  Shomu,  two  years  before  his  death, 
was  to  decree  and  start  the  erection  of  a colossal  bronze  statue  of 
Roshara  Buddha  (the  Buddha  of  Light),  to  be  placed  in  a great 
monastery  erected  on  the  plateau  east  of  Nara,  and  at  the  foot  of 
Mikasa  mountain.  This  was  to  be  called  “Todaiji,”  the  Eastern  great 
monastery,  or,  as  the  Japanese  and  foreigners  have  always  called  it, 
“ The  Daibutsu.”  Shomu  died  in  748 — four  years  before  its  com- 
pletion, but  the  plans  were  his.  The  enormous  building  of  the 

Kondo,  some  300  feet  long  and  more  than  100  feet  in  height,  has 
been  partly  reproduced  in  the  present  middle-age  building  erected 
after  a destructive  fire.  The  image  itself  sat  53  feet  high  upon  its 
throne.  Its  present  ugly  big  head  replaces  the  original  which  was 
melted  off  in  the  fire.  But  even  judging  from  the  small  model, 

which  remains,  the  figure  was  ugly  enough  at  first.  It  apparently  was 
not  only  the  inherent  difficulty  of  designing  for  such  an  unheard-of 
scale,  and  for  such  difficult  construction,  but  the  very  taste  of  the  day 
was  for  fat  and  neckless  types.  Here  both  sources  of  monstrosity  were 
present. 

But  one  really  beautiful  piece  of  work  accompanied  the  building 
and  the  solid  casting  of  the  Buddha,  and  that  is  the  large  bronze 


Iio  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

lantern  which,  some  20  feet  in  height,  stands  in  front  of  the  main 
entrance  to  the  Daibutsu-Kondo.  The  pedestal  is  of  granite  ; the 
lantern  itself  a great  octagonal  birdcage  of  open-work  cast  bronze. 
Upon  the  four  unbroken  panels  stand  in  low  relief  the  overloaded 
but  not  ungracious  figures  of  Bodhisattwa.  Upon  the  four  groups 
of  opening  door  panels  fly  downwards  in  clouds  lion-like  animals  that 
rise  into  relief  like  the  so-called  “sea-horses”  of  the  Chinese  grape 
mirrors.  We  can  hardly  judge,  after  twelve  hundred  years  of  exposure 
to  weather,  of  the  original  finish  of  this  unique  bronze. 

The  whole  wealth  of  a great  and  growing  Empire  had  literally 
been  cast  by  Shomu  into  this  proud  creation  of  a colossus.  For  it 
special  taxes  from  provinces  a thousand  miles  away  and  recently 
wrested  from  the  Ainus,  now  for  the  first  time  smiling  with  harvests, 
had  been  collected,  and  stores  of  copper  and  gold  from  Japan  and 
Corea  had  been  amassed  in  monasteries.  Shomu  was  really  master  of 
great  works  like  an  Egyptian  Pharaoh.  But  one  other  big  thing  he 
did  before  he  died,  and  on  his  death-bed — the  biggest  thing  of  its 
kind  that  any  human  being  has  ever  done — he  left  by  will  the  total 
material  contents  of  his  palace  at  the  time  of  his  death  as  a present 
to  the  new  Buddha,  and  ordered  to  be  erected  a special  storehouse 
within  the  monastery  grounds  for  the  custody  of  these  articles. 

That  storehouse  is  the  famous  Shosoin  of  Nara,  erected  in  749 
and  still  existing  ; and  the  articles  now  therein  are  by  far  the  larger 
part  of  the  deposits  of  that  year,  as  can  be  seen  by  comparison  of 
the  original  inventory.  It  is  the  greatest  place  of  its  kind  in  the 
world,  a unique  domestic  museum  ; the  only  competitor  being  the 
combination  of  Pompeii  itself  with  the  unearthed  Roman  treasures 
stored  in  the  Naples  museum.  But  there  the  articles  are  only  those 
that  could  defy  damp  and  heat — stone,  metal,  earthenware,  and  frescoed 
plaster.  Whereas  in  Shosoin  every  kind  of  article  is  represented, 
however  perishable  : writing  paper  in  rolls  from  Shomu’s  own  desk, 
garments  of  every  grade  from  his  wardrobe,  the  perishable  furs  and 
frail  feather  slippers  of  the  Empress ; jewels  ad  libitum , including 
infinite  variety  of  stone  and  glass  beads  ; all  the  utensils  of  house- 
keeping, pans  for  cooking,  bowls  for  eating,  spoons  and  knives  and 
forks,  yes,  and  glass  finger  bowls ; bedsteads  and  couches,  and  vases 
and  boxes,  and  cabinets,  and  floss  silk  for  embroidery,  and  accoutrement 
for  horses,  and  court  banners,  and  rare  manuscripts,  and  painted 


Painted  Designs  Designs  painted  on  Leather 

from  Shosoin.  from  Shosoin. 


1 1 1 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN 

screens,  and  metal  mirrors,  and  musical  instruments,  and  weapons  of 
war,  and  a thousand  other  articles  of  unique  interest.  Nowhere  else 
exists  such  an  opportunity  for  studying  the  daily  life  and  art  of  a 
vanished  civilization.  Through  it  we  know  more  of  Nara  life,  and 
reflected  in  it  of  Chinese  life  in  early  Tang,  than  most  of  us  know 
even  of  the  China  and  Japan  of  to-day. 

The  Japanese  are  right  to  prize  it  as  something  sacred,  for  it  has 
been  held  as  a kind  of  mystic  legacy  from  Emperor  to  Emperor 
since  the  day  of  its  founding.  Never  has  there  been  an  era  in  the 

imperial  household  when  three  commissioners  with  three  sets  of  keys 
have  not  been  appointed  its  official  custodians.  It  is  true  that  in  the 
distractions  and  imperial  poverty  of  the  middle  ages  there  were  times 
when  the  museum  was  not  opened  for  many  years,  once  during  the 
gap  of  a century.  At  that  time  storms  and  damp  broke  through 
one  part  of  the  roof,  and  a portion  of  the  perishable  articles,  un- 
fortunately all  but  three  or  four  of  some  200  screens,  then  mouldered 
away.  But  two  out  of  three  partitions  remained  intact  with  all  their 
contents.  Very  little  has  been  added  from  age  to  age  ; we  have  many 
successive  inventories  to  compare  with  the  original.  When  the  new 
government  came  in  with  1868  the  exploration  of  this  place  became 
an  unparalleled  piece  of  romantic  work.  Mr.  Uchida,  the  chief 
commissioner,  made  the  first  archaeological  study  of  its  contents  and 
constructed  the  present  system  of  museum  shelves  and  glass  cases,  in 
which  samples  of  all  species  of  articles  can  be  exhibited  to  those  few 
who  have  the  favour  of  a visit.  Nowadays  the  museum  is  opened 
only  once  a year,  for  drying,  and  an  imperial  rescript  is  necessary  for 
each  visitor  admitted.*  Some  drawings  were  made  by  antiquaries  in 
the  early  nineteenth  century,  and  a few  such  photographs  were  taken 
for  the  government  exhibit  at  the  French  Exposition  in  1898.  A 
few  copies  are  in  the  museum  at  Tokio  and  the  imperial  archives. 
But  for  the  most  part  the  contents  remain  still  unillustrated.  As 
imperial  commissioner  I had  a chance  to  study  these  treasures  on 
three  separate  occasions  in  the  ’eighties.  And  the  little  I can  say 
here  is  taken  from  my  note-books  of  those  years. 

The  value  of  the  collection  as  a whole  is  perhaps  more  archaeologic 
than  aesthetic  ; nevertheless  a vast  number  of  specimens  of  high 
artistic  beauty  and  importance  are  included,  some  of  which  I have 
* This  rigidity  was  afterwards  considerably  relaxed. — The  Ed. 


1 12  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

already  described.  What  I shall  now  add  refers  mostly  to  these.  Facts 
of  mere  social  interest — as  for  example  that  there  are  no  chopsticks 
in  Shosoin,  only  spoons  and  forks  ; and  that  stirrups  and  locks  are 
quite  like  European — cannot  be  dwelt  upon. 

The  building  itself  is  some  ioo  feet  long,  two  storeys  in  height,  and 
raised  20  feet  into  the  air  on  heavy  open  piling,  which  allows  no  damp 
to  arise  from  the  ground.  The  unpainted  wood  of  enormous  trunks,  in 
being  eaten  with  the  slow  oxidation  of  a millennium  some  three  inches, 
exhibits  exposed  surfaces  of  the  toughness  of  iron.  It  is  a more  precious 
privilege  to  climb  about  its  rickety  stairways  than  to  ascend  to  the 
dome  of  St.  Peter’s. 

The  first  impression  one  gets  is  of  being  in  a second  resurrected  Rome, 
of  the  continental  scale  of  an  Asia.  Apparently  the  whole  range  of  the 
massive  continent  had  poured  its  treasures  into  the  lap  of  Nara  : Babylon 
and  the  Persia  of  the  Sassanids,  and  India  and  Ghandara,  and  Annam,  and 
the  Amoor,  and  of  course  China  and  Corea,  all  contributing  substantial 
quota.  In  how  far  these  waifs  are  Chinese  is  a matter  of  growing  interest. 
Mr.  Uchida  and  the  archaeologist  of  1868  were  inclined  to  regard  them 
and  most  of  the  Horiuji  articles  (Horiuji  was  found  to  be  almost  a second 
Shosoin)  as  Japanese  products.  But  we  can  now  be  sure  that  much  of 
Shomu’s  prized  furniture  was  made  up  of  gifts  from  continental  sovereigns 
or  from  unique  importation.  The  beautiful  glass  and  enamels  came  from 
Persia  and  China.  The  glazed  tableware  pieces — yes,  plates  and  cups  and 
bowls  of  a mottled  yellow  and  green,  in  a kind  of  Castile  soap  pattern — 
abound  by  the  gross.  Not  a piece  like  this  ware  exists  so  far  as  I know 
in  any  other  Japanese  or  foreign  collection  of  pottery  ; so  it  is  hard  to 
place.  But  it  is  probably  Chinese  of  early  Tang,  based  on  the  relics  and 
colours  of  Han  pottery  and  glazes. 

Other  Chinese  pieces  of  unique  value  are  the  biwas,  or  pear-shaped 
lutes,  across  whose  surface  under  the  striking  point  of  the  strings  painted 
leather  panels  have  been  glued.  The  sunrise  landscape  elephant  is  one  of 
these.  Another  is  the  scene  of  lion  hunting  among  the  mountains.  Still 
other  biwa  are  inlaid  with  delicate  flower  arabesques  and  birds  of  tinted 
ivory.  Lacquered  boxes  and  other  utensils  inlaid  with  Chinese  patterns  in 
pearl  and  ivory  are  common.  We  have  already  noted  one  Tang  ornamental 
piece  with  Taoist  figures  in  a bamboo  garden.  And  other  remarkable 
pieces  are  small  slabs  of  marble,  possibly  tent  weights,  heavily  carved  with 
fights  between  animals.  The  one  here  shown  of  a wild  boar  and  a kind  of 


Paintings  on  the  Back  of  Musical  Instruments  called  “ Biwa. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  1 1 3 

hound  is  taken  from  a rude  drawing  in  white  made  in  the  early  19th 
century.  This  must  be  Chinese  Greco-Buddhist  modelling  of  early 
Tang,  as  powerful  and  perfect  as  Egyptian  animals  of  the  old  empire,  or 
even  as  Greek.  Still  other  pieces  are  beautiful  silver  boxes  and  vases, 
ornamented  partly  in  relief,  partly  with  patterns  incised  in  the  Greek 
manner.  Some  of  the  shapes  are  so  delicate  as  to  recall  Mohammedan 
Persian  art,  say  of  coffee  pots  and  hookahs  ; and  this  is  one  ground  of  the 
hasty  assertion  that  the  Corean  Japanese  art  of  the  Nara  period  is  based 
upon  Persian.  Rather,  to  take  a fine  example — the  large  silver  pitcher 
with  cover  and  handle — ought  we  to  say  that  beautiful  Eastern  forms  like 
this,  probably  Chinese  of  early  Tang,  must  themselves  have  been  the 
originals  from  which  the  late  Mohammedan  art  of  Persia  and  India  was 
derived.  Sir  Purdon  Clarke,  expert  on  Central  Asian  art,  with  whom  I 
discussed  such  problems  at  South  Kensington  in  1887,  agreed  with  me  in 
Chinese  attribution. 

To  analyse  the  present  specimen  we  should  have  to  say  that  its 
shape  is  a refinement  of  Han  bronzes  and  pottery,  that  its  cover  is 
a relic  of  Pacific  dragon  modified  by  Babylonian  drawing,  and  that 
the  winged  horse  so  beautifully  engraved  on  its  side  is  an  exquisite 
specimen  of  Greco-Buddhist  art.  This  horse  I have  myself  traced 
from  an  early  Japanese  drawing.  We  have  already  seen  winged  horses 
in  the  Han  reliefs,  but  these  were  strenuous  and  massive  in  their 
lines.  Here  the  wings  are  as  European  as  those  of  the  painted  cherub 
baldachi  at  Yakushiji.  If  not  Greco-Buddhist,  it  must  be  Greek  art 
coming  at  this  day  by  sea  through  Persian  sources. 

Another  Persian  controversy  concerns  the  flower  ornamentation  of 
the  inlaid  biwas.  Here  we  have  daintily  carved  pomegranate-like  leaves 
for  all  the  world  like  those  of  modern  Persian  carpets  and  Indian  shawls. 
Mohammedan  influence,  one  might  allege  ; yes,  but  too  late  in  the  day, 
for  the  Arabs  were  still  concerned  with  Egypt  and  Spain,  and  the 
Sassanid  dynasty  of  Persia  did  not  fall  before  637  a.d.  Plenty  of 
Sassanid  ornament  there  is  in  Shosoin  and  Horiuji,  especially  in  the 
patterns  of  Buddhist  stuffs.  But  it  is  all,  as  we  should  expect,  in  the 
form  of  debased  Assyrian  combined  with  debased  Roman.  Such 
Sassanian  art  is  well  represented  by  the  brass  dish  with  concentric 
circles  in  the  British  Museum.  But  of  the  flower  style  of  the  inlaid 
biwas  we  have  yet  to  prove  the  existence  in  any  Mohammedan  art 
before  the  twelfth  century. 


i H EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

But  the  greatest  sesthetic  triumph  among  the  Shosoin  pieces,  and 
incidentally  the  most  interesting  controversy,  is  found  in  the  hundred 
or  more  magnificent  specimens  of  Chinese  bronze  mirrors.  These 
were  formerly  believed  to  be  Japanese.  Some  are  only  six  inches  in 
diameter,  some  as  large  as  two  feet.  All  are  finished  with  a delicacy 
of  modelled  relief  on  the  back  and  a satin  smoothness  of  surface  that 
match  the  angel  screen  of  the  trinity.  Many  of  them  are  un- 
doubtedly Tang  design,  with  scroll-work  and  dragons  and  tortoises 
exactly  like  the  decoration  of  the  Yukushiji  bronze  pedestal.  The 
controversial  ones  are  the  grape  vine  mirrors,  already  twice  spoken  of, 
of  which  the  Shosoin  collection  possesses  a large  number,  of  exactly 
the  same  freshness  as  the  undoubtedly  Tang  examples  and  as  the 
white  snake  trinity.  It  is  incredible  that  thirty  or  forty  pieces  of 
Han  age  should  have  lasted  in  full  perfection  through  eight  centuries 
of  Chinese  change  down  to  Shomu’s  time.  The  only  statable  hypothesis 
consistent  with  their  Han  origin  is  that  some  rare  Han  pieces  had 
been  copied  and  played  upon  with  infinite  variation  by  artists  of 
Tang,  or  Nara,  or  both.  It  is  possible  that  some  pieces  are  Japanese, 
just  as  the  angel  trinity  is  probably  Japanese.  But  the  type  is 
more  absolutely  Chinese  than  the  latter,  in  which  all  the  elements  of 
design  are  pure  Buddhist.  Not  a Buddhist  symbol  enters  into  the 
grape  vine  mirrors.  Moreover,  as  I have  said,  not  one  feature  of 
this  elaborate  workmanship  has  any  kinship  with  any  other  Han 
design  yet  seen  by  me  ; whereas  in  esthetic  feeling  it  is  in  close 
touch  with  all  the  more  delicate  phases  of  Greco-Buddhist  art  con- 
temporary with  early  Tang — with  Tang  bronzes,  Tang  mirrors,  Corean 
statues,  the  angel  trinity,  the  Yakushiji  pedestal,  the  Todaiji  lantern, 
and  the  Yakushiji  painted  cherubim. 

The  final  phase  of  Nara  degeneration  is  most  interesting  to  trace. 
The  Empress  Koka,  who  ruled  until  769,  though  a devout  Buddhist, 
could  not  check  palace  and  temple  rottenness,  and  had  no  new  phase 
of  thought  or  action  to  substitute.  The  only  hint  of  such  a thing  is 
the  first  worshipping  of  Confucius  in  767.  Confucius  had  been  given 
posthumous  nobility  in  China  in  739.  The  Confucian  party  at  the 
Tang  capital,  headed  by  the  great  Han,  master  prose  writer  of  the 
Empire,  had  publicly,  but  in  vain,  denounced  Buddhism.  China  was 
already  threatening  to  divide  against  herself.  If  the  wreck  had  been 
more  serious  in  Japan  history  might  have  been  changed  ; as  it  was,  the 


Outline  of  the  Building  known  as  Shosoin. 


Mirror  from  Shosoin. 


Silver  Ewer  Showing  a Design 
of  a Winged  Horse. 

At  Horiuji. 


GRECO-BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  115 

Confucian  worship,  only  sporadic,  was  a sign  of  returning  intercourse 
with  China.  For  in  almost  the  same  year  the  Empress  created  her 
Buddhist  prime  minister  “ King  of  Religion.”  The  laws  of  Taiho, 
guaranteeing  the  land  to  the  people,  were  falling  into  disuse  ; no  re- 
apportioning and  re-appraising  were  ordered,  and  the  selfish  nobles 
confiscated  where  they  could.  Such  demoralization  could  end  only  in 
disaster. 

The  art  of  the  day  shows  the  change : the  bronze  wooden  statues 
of  Dembodo,  without  a real  organic  rhythm,  all  stiff  as  a board, 
being  typical  Koken  art.  A last  good  phase  is  seen  in  the  ugly 
and  awkward  low-relief  “ generals  ” of  the  Tokando  of  Kofukuji. 
Then  follow  the  unspeakable  atrocities  of  the  large  bronze  Shi  Ten 
O of  Saidaiji. 

A ray  of  light  comes  from  attempts  at  painting ; many  of  these 
are  fat  and  roly-poly,  and  of  a misplaced  gorgeousness.  Yet  there 
is  an  attempt  to  introduce  low  relief  in  Amida’s  Western  Heaven, 
with  its  bands  of  trinities  and  angels.  The  woven  colossal  Paradise 
of  Taimadera  belongs  to  this  day,  as  also  the  statue  of  the  imperial 
nun  Chujo-hime,  who  was  translated  at  her  death  to  Heaven.  Thus 
to  this  day  persists  the  Bodhisattwa  club  among  the  young  men  of 
the  village,  who  once  a year  dress  as  Amida,  Kwannon,  and  the 
twenty-five  Bosatsu,  build  a great  bridge  over  the  court  of  Taima, 
and  cross  with  elaborate  dancing  to  carry  the  statuette  of  Chujo-hime 
to  Heaven.  A true  relic  of  the  Buddhist  miracle  dance  is  this, 
which  I saw  in  1888,  analogue  of  the  Oberammergau  performances 
in  Christian  Europe.  The  Bodhisattwa  masks  are  late  beautiful 
examples  of  Koken  carving.  The  successor,  Korin,  did  no  better 

for  her  few  years  ; and  the  whole  fate  of  Japan  lay  with  the  power 

to  do  new  things  of  Kwammu,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne  in 

782.  Such  is  our  brief  account  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  Greco- 

Buddhist  art  in  Japan. 


Chapter  VII. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING  IN  CHINA  AND 

JAPAN. 

Eighth  Century  to  Eleventh. 

Loyang  and  Kioto. 

IT  would  be  a decided  mistake  to  suppose  that  Greco-Buddhist  art 
served  as  more  than  a single  short  step  in  the  climb  of  Chinese 
genius  toward  its  apex.  It  was  a mere  interlude  in  the  perpetual 
overlaying  of  the  faith  in  China  with  form  after  form.  It  helped  the 
subsequent  art,  no  doubt,  by  its  training  in  proportion  and  in  fine  line 
rhythms.  But  as  a special  aesthetic  form  it  was  forgotten  in  China  almost 
as  soon  as  it  had  begun.  We  have  now  to  see  what  were  the  real  causes 
of  the  further  advance  of  Chinese  art  to  the  Tang  culmination. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  in  such  a large,  complex,  yet  loosely 
jointed  mass  as  the  Chinese  Empire,  great  movements  are  rarely  single, 
but  overlapping  with  others,  the  germs  of  subsequent  creation  slumbering 
along  for  centuries  side  by  side  with  their  antagonists.  It  is  thus  true 
that  all  through  the  Greco-Buddhist  days  of  the  eighth  century  at  least  two 
great  earlier  art  movements  never  died  out — one  the  love  of  pure  land- 
scape in  poetry  and  painting,  which  had  been  fostered  by  the  long 
residence  of  the  Chinese  Court  in  the  south,  especially  the  Court  of 
Liang  ; the  other  an  art  of  religious  painting,  which  itself  had  subdivided 
into  two  main  forms  : a Northern  or  Tartar  form  in  which  the  hair  lines 
were  quite  subordinate  to  colour  masses,  and  a Southern  form,  originated  by 
Kogaishi  (Ku  K‘ai-chih),  in  which  the  flexible  brush  line  played  a powerful 
part.  Though  little  remains  to  illustrate  either  of  these  early  beginnings, 
we  know  from  written  history  that  all  received  some  attention  during  the 
formative  years  of  early  Tang.  It  was  now,  at  the  end  of  the  seventh 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


1 1 7 

century,  new  natural  and  spiritual  forces  acting  widely  throughout  the 
nation  that  tended  to  bring  these  half-neglected  aesthetic  styles  more  into 
the  foreground. 

We  have  seen  that  the  root  of  the  exceptional  genius  of  Tang  lay 
in  the  variety  of  its  sources,  and  in  their  fertile  reaction  upon  each 
other  when  brought  into  contact  at  a common  capital.  The  wealth, 
too,  of  the  empire  had  never  before  reached  such  height.  Buildings 
were  grander,  stuffs  and  clothing  more  exquisite,  food  more  plentiful, 
the  people  happier,  engineering  works  more  stupendous,  than  in  the 
Han  dynasty  or  in  any  preceding  period  of  Chinese  history.  The 
Eastern  capital,  Loyang,  in  the  ancient  peaceful  seats  of  the  Hoangho 
valley,  became  now  rebuilt  upon  a scale  which  accommodated  more  than 
two  million  people.  Great  public  gardens  and  museums  gave  recreation 
to  the  people.  The  private  palace  gardens  were  raised  on  mighty  walled 
terraces,  pavilion  crowned,  that  enjoyed  far  prospect  over  lakes  and 
bays — or  sunk  into  cool  shady  wells  where  plum  trees  shot  their  scaly 
arms  into  the  shape  of  dragons,  and  ancient  pines  had  been  trained  to 
writhe  like  serpents  through  the  interstices  of  water-worn  stone.  Great 
jars  of  hard  paste  pottery  covered  with  creamy  glazes,  and  tiles  of 
deeper  hue,  probably  purple  and  yellow — an  art  descended  from  the 
glazed  ware  of  the  long  extinct  Han — gave  brilliancy  to  the  landscape 
architecture.  Pavilions  rose  above  granite  and  marble  foundations  in 
rainbow  tier  after  tier  : great  banquetting  halls,  and  blue  silk  awnings, 
and  heavy  portieres  shot  with  golden  thread  adding  alike  to  the  exalted 
coolness  and  to  the  aesthetic  transitions.  A vast  commerce  had  opened 
up  from  the  southern  and  eastern  ports  with  the  Indian  Ocean  and 
even  the  Persian  Gulf.  Colonies  of  Arab  merchants  already  had  alien 
settlements  in  the  Chinese  cities.  Religious  liberty  was  fairly  respected, 
for  Mohammedan  mosques  and  Jewish  synagogues,  and  even  temples  of 
Nestorian  Christians,  arose  side  by  side  in  some  of  the  more  populous 
capitals.  Indeed,  in  these  great  days  of  early  Tang,  China  had  become 
the  metropolitan  garden  of  Asia,  surpassing  the  splendours  of  Khan  or 
Caliph  at  Samarcand  and  Damascus  and  Bagdad. 

But  beside  these  material  advantages,  the  Chinese  mind,  and  especially 
the  Chinese  literature,  must  be  said  also  to  have  blossomed  into 
luxurious  perfection.  Great  scholars,  Buddhist  and  Confucian,  thronged 
the  receptions  of  the  imperial  court ; the  greatest  hand-writers  of  China 
wrote  mighty  thoughts  into  exquisite  manuscript  ; the  culmination  of 


1 18  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

forceful  dignified  prose  came  with  the  memorials  of  Han  wei  Kung 
(Kantaishi)  ; and,  more  than  all,  the  wonderful  experiments  in  perfect- 
ing poetic  forms  which  had  followed  the  beginnings  of  Toemmei  and 
Shareiwun  in  the  South  now  came  to  their  final  blossoming  in  a host 
of  great  poets  who  fired  the  various  resources  of  form  with  their  fresh 
genius  and  unfettered  taste. 

The  very  centre  and  core  of  this  mighty  illumination  of  Tang  was 
the  long  reign  of  the  Emperor  Genso,  who  ascended  the  throne  in  713, 
after  the  Greco-Buddhist  inspiration  had  spent  its  course,  and  who  out- 
lived the  tremendous  experiments  of  the  Chinese  soul  to  find  perfect 
form  for  expression  that  preceded  the  insurrections  and  disasters  of  755. 
Now  it  was  that  the  very  China  of  China  began  to  take  on  her  per- 
fected institutions.  The  civil  service  examinations  were  broadened  and 
made  compulsory  as  an  anteroom  to  officialdom ; the  University  was 
organized,  the  Boards  of  History  and  Morals  purified,  and  the  tendencies 
of  literature  and  art  concentrated  into  that  supreme  achievement  which 
soon  gives  rise  to  canons. 

The  career  of  Genso  (Hsuan  Tsung)  himself  is  most  romantic  and 
pitiful.  Set  at  the  very  acme  of  Chinese  power  and  feeling,  his  good- 
humoured  weakness — and,  as  the  later  Confucian  scholars  would  say, 
superstitions  and  dissipations — led  him  into  intertangled  nests  of  palace 
intrigue,  and  into  a sort  of  aesthetic  excess  that  well-nigh  undermined 
not  only  him,  but  his  whole  dynasty.  If  we  are  to  believe  the  purist 
censors  who  have  denounced  this  age,  it  was  almost  as  bad  as  the  days 
of  Nero  and  the  mediaeval  popes.  But  we  must  remember  that  even 
the  China  of  this  early  day  was  already  threatened  with  a duality  that 
has  since  become  her  fate  and  her  curse,  a growing  antagonism  between 
the  Confucian  scholars  and  all  other  believers  and  thinkers,  who  entered 
with  joy  and  hopefulness  upon  a new  life,  new  religious  sanctions,  and 
a new  art.  It  was  a situation  somewhat  parallel  to  the  split  between 
Puritans  and  Cavaliers  that  had  declared  itself  in  England  by  the  reigns 
of  the  first  James  and  Charles.  If  Wycliff  had  been  the  prime  English 
sage  of  ancient  years  who  had  laid  down  full  philosophic  foundations 
for  British  character,  as  Confucius  had  done  for  Chinese,  and  if  the 
Catholic  love  for  gaiety  and  drama  and  art  and  light  verse  had  come 
as  a passionate  after-outreach  for  freedom,  as  the  newer  and  newer 
waves  of  idealistic  Buddhism  flowed  into  China,  the  parallelism  would 
be  closer. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


1 19 

But  we  may  well  suspect  the  Puritan  chroniclers  of  China  of 
falsifying  the  record  when  they  lay  such  deep  stress  upon  the  gap  as 
already  existing  in  Genso’s  day.  It  is  as  if  we  imagined  Elizabeth  and 
her  Court  to  take  their  nominal  Protestantism  with  the  same  seriousness 
as  Cromwell  and  Milton.  The  age  of  Genso  and  the  strength  of  its 
whole  illumination  lie  just  in  the  fact  that  the  stress  and  joy  of  genius 
for  the  time  quite  drowned  the  muttering  of  the  storm  ; people  acted 
and  wrote  and  painted,  hardly  knowing  or  caring  whether  they  were 
Confucians,  Taoists,  or  Buddhists,  weaving  coloured  threads  from  each 
into  their  splendid  fabric  as  the  fancy  suited.  It  was,  indeed,  a kind 
of  glorified  Elizabethan  age  for  China. 

Among  the  satellites  at  this  gay  Court  none  were  more  in  evidence 
and  more  honoured  than  the  lyric  poets.  Genso  sent  invitations  far 
and  wide  to  the  hopeful  geniuses  of  the  provinces.  It  was  as  if 
Marlowe,  Green,  and  Peale,  and  Shakespeare,  Jonson,  Donne,  should 
have  become  the  very  bulwark  and  the  intimate  advisers  of  the 
English  throne.  Rank  and  salaries  and  splendid  clothes  they  received  ; 
and  so  highly  was  their  real  genius  understood  and  craved  that  its 
prime  condition — freedom — was  allowed.  Rihaku,  the  lyric  laureate  of 
China,  openly  lampooned  the  Emperor  and  his  mistresses.  He  played 
on  a grand  scale  the  roystering  Lovelace  and  the  scurrilous  Herrick 

to  the  long-faced  Marvell  of  Kantaishi,  or  the  passionate  Vaughan 
of  Omakitsu.  He  tried,  at  times,  the  taste  of  their  several  styles  ; and 

the  poetical  wealth  of  the  man  and  of  his  day  is  proved  by  the  fact 

that  nature,  man,  ethics,  Taoist  fancies  and  Buddhist  devotion,  all  enter 
his  verses  as  natural  friends,  and  all  pulsing  with  sympathy  toward  the 
social  betterment  and  freedom  of  man. 

The  great  landscape  poet  of  the  day,  who  was  also  a great  landscape 
painter  as  well  as  statesman,  Omakitsu  Oi  (Wang  Wei),  lived  in  a 
beautiful  villa  with  hillocks  and  lakes,  a few  miles  from  the  capital. 
Here  his  paintings  of  rural  scenes  in  fine  ink  monochrome  were 

distributed  to  his  friends,  pictures  which  became  the  pride  of  later 

collectors.  But  he  was  no  Confucian  pedant — far  from  it  ; and  the 

attempt  of  late  and  degenerate  critics  of  the  present  dynasty  to 
fasten  upon  him  the  narrow  juiceless  canon  of  their  so-called 

“ Southern  School  ” is  absurd.  It  is  also  quite  untrue  that  black-and- 
white  work  began  with  him,  and  quite  untrue  that  it  was  the  fact 

of  working  in  black-and-white  which  distinguished  the  “ Southern,” 


izo  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

or  “ Bunjingwa  ” School,  from  the  “ Northern,”  or  official.  His  style, 
instead  of  being  soft  and  soaky  and  blotchy — the  trick  of  the  modern 
formalists — was  strong  and  hard  and  scratchy,  the  brush  strokes  fall- 
ing in  incredibly  varied  forms,  as  we  see  in  his  great  waterfall  of 

Chishakuin  in  Kioto,*  the  only  important  specimen  of  his  work 
preserved  in  Japan,  or  perhaps  in  the  world.  It  was  the  spontaneous 
literary  form  of  Oi  that  led  after  centuries  to  a worn,  pared-off  canon 
by  which  he  became  travestied  and  misunderstood. 

His  great  friend  and  rival  in  the  ink  landscape  school,  borrowed 
from  the  traditions  of  Liang,  was  the  otherwise  celebrated  artist 
Godoshi  (Wu  Tao-Tzu),  who  has  left  us  the  finest  early  specimens 

of  Chinese  monochrome  landscape  in  the  pair  owned  by  Shinjuan 

Daitokuji  in  Kioto.  Here,  too,  we  can  see  that  the  very  style  is 
scratchy  and  occupied  with  the  setting  of  strong,  crisp  masses  of 
infinite  variety  upon  sized  paper  or  silk.  The  impressionism  of  blur 
and  accident  came  in  at  a far  later  day  with  the  Confucian  exquisites 
of  Sung  (So),  and  especially  of  Yuen.  I shall  refer  to  these  sporadic 
ink  landscapes  of  Tang  again  when  I come  to  consider  the  landscape 
art  of  Sung. 

It  is  rather  to  the  Buddhist  art,  and  especially  the  Buddhist 

painting  of  Tang,  that  we  have  to  turn,  if  we  are  to  follow  our 
plan  of  characterizing  each  age  by  its  strongest,  most  creative,  most 
original  work.  The  enthusiasm  of  Genso  was  all  for  Buddhism  and 
Taoism.  These  elements  of  personal  freedom  play  the  greatest  part 
in  Rihaku’s  imagery.  And  it  was  in  this  line  that  Genso’s  (Hsuan- 
Tsung)  greatest  artist,  Godoshi,  achieved  first  a national  and  then  a 
world-wide  reputation.  Let  us  now  see  how  the  several  Buddhist 
movements  lead  up  to  the  culminating  art  of  Godoshi  (Wu  Tao-Tzu). 

Already  we  have  marked  how,  in  the  Southern  dynasties,  the  con- 
templative school  of  Buddhism,  the  Zen,  founded  by  Daruma,  had 
led  to  landscape  art  and  literature,  and  to  a more  human  rendering 
of  sacred  scenes  and  deities.  Now  this  Zen  movement,  although  it 
does  not  reach  its  creative  apex  until  the  following  Sung,  played 
some  part  in  the  Buddhist  art  of  Genso.  But,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  Northern  formal  and  tinted  Buddhist  art  of  Tartar  tradition  had 
also  its  part  to  play.  Indeed,  for  the  moment  the  sects  half  blurred 


* Modern  Japanese  critics  are  now  inclined  to  think  this  waterfall  a copy. — The  Ed. 


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le  of  Chishakuin  in  Kioto. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


I 2 I 


their  outlines,  so  as  to  let  in  freely  all  tentative  elements  that 
might  be  found  to  have  aesthetic  efficacy.  In  brief,  there  is  some- 
thing of  a union  or  “ pooling  ” of  styles. 

Into  this  seething  Buddhist  mixture  of  the  Chinese  Tang  capitals 
was  now  poured  a new  and  powerful  solvent  which  had  come  into 
China  in  the  wake  of  the  Greco-Buddhist  art.  This  was  the  mystical 
or  esoteric  form  of  the  belief,  which,  founded  on  the  philosophical 
idealism  of  Nagajuna,  Vasubandhu,  and  Asangpo,  had  incorporated 
all  the  mystical  psychology  which  seems  to  have  been  a part  of 
India  since  Vedic  days,  and  had  concentrated  all  these  into  a special 
doctrinal  discipline.  This  had  been  specially  introduced  by  an 

Indian  heresiarch  (?)  about  the  year  640.  By  700  it  had  grown  into 
a dominant  sect,  of  great  piety  and  wealthy  patronage,  with  its 
central  sect  located  upon  the  famous  Tientai  mountain.  Here  the 

success  of  the  Indian  teacher,  as  the  Japanese  call  him,  Tendai 
Daishi,  had  set  up  a great  school  for  the  transmission  of  the 
doctrine  ; and  the  young  aristocrats  of  Loyang  were  prostrated  before 
him  in  their  efforts  to  realise  the  mystic  union  with  divinity,  a kind 
of  neo  - Platonic  ecstasy,  which  he  professed.  This  great  esoteric 
sect,  which  ascribes  magical  power  and  direct  contact  with  spirit 

to  the  human  soul,  was  called,  from  its  central  sect,  the  Tendai 
sect.  The  mastery  of  self,  the  spiritual  knighthood  which  it 

preached,  its  Bodhisattwa  vow,  and  the  higher  communion  of  the 
saints,  awakened  extraordinary  enthusiasm,  much  as  a great  leader  of 
Theosophy  might  do  among  us  if  he  really  worked  great  miracles, 
really  were  able  to  identify  thought  and  intuition,  and  to  prove 

his  system  in  harmony  with  all  healthy,  moral,  and  social  move- 
ments, and  only  an  expansion  of  preceding  religious  forms.  With  such 
earnestness  as  this  the  Christian  Scientists  seem  to  move  among 
us  to-day. 

But  the  mysticism  of  the  Tendai  sect  went  to  a range  of  psycho- 
logical analysis  which  dwarfs  the  neo-Platonist.  It  assumes  the 
world  to  be  real  rather  than  illusory  ; striving,  evolution  : a salvation 
through  process — a salvation  to  be  achieved  within  the  body  of  society 
and  human  law — a salvation  of  personal  freedom  and  self-directed 
illumination — a salvation  by  renouncing  salvation  for  loving  work. 
The  opening  of  the  inner  eye  to  natural  facts  and  spiritual  presences 
that  are  veiled  from  lower  forms  is  not  the  aim  but  the  incident  of 


VOL.  1. 


L 


122  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

discipline.  It  is  this,  however,  which  gives  the  accompanying  art  its 
vivid  value  and  piercing  imagination.  The  power  to  image  forth  truth 
in  forms  of  glowing  vision,  to  see  the  very  presences  of  Buddhas  and 
Bodhisattwas  clad  with  dazzling  light,  to  project  angelic  groups  upon 
the  background  of  contemplation  and  to  behold  the  inner  circulation 
of  native  affinities  and  sympathies  working  in  intertwisted  lines  of 
physical  and  moral  law — the  psychologic  armies  of  elementals  working 
through  storms  of  molecules  and  currents — all  this  is  of  the  very 
substance,  not  of  poetry  and  music,  but  of  visual  art. 

How  different  is  all  this  direct  challenging  of  co-operating  spirits, 
often  as  Mahatma  or  conquerors  in  the  flesh,  from  the  vague  though 
vast  moral  abstractions  of  the  exoteric  sects  ! There  it  was  but  the 
enhancement  of  a natural  moral  potency- — a vast  abstraction  projecting 
into  a Brocken  shadow  against  the  sky  traits  which  might  not  be 
highly  reverenced  if  conceived  as  frankly  human.  Here  it  is  the 
actual  presence  of  spiritual  hierarchy  : as  if  the  devotee  were  a soldier 
in  the  ranks  privileged  to  see  his  captain  and  general  occasionally 
pass  his  tent,  keenly  inspect,  and  scatter  glances  of  encouragement. 
Man  thus  became,  or  thought  he  became,  visible  co-ruler  of  history, 
with  superman.  He  could  foreknow  the  passwords  and  the  plan  of 
campaign,  and  provide  the  restoratives  of  the  hospital  wards.  It  was 
vision,  concrete,  inspiring,  personal  even,  rather  than  abstraction.  The 
very  electricity  of  these  spirits  could  be  seen  pulsing  through  the  flesh 
as  through  the  adamant  of  mountains. 

And  how  perfectly  the  difference  between  these  two  visions  corre- 
sponded to  a broad  cleavage  between  sister  arts.  The  exoteric  worship 
of  the  abstract  principle  needed  body,  yet  a body  as  severe  as  itself. 
Hence  sculpture  and  ithe  satiny  hardness  of  bronze  became  the  natural 
mediums.  But  for  flashing  armies  of  light  and  colour,  and  the 
enthronement  of  the  general,  and  the  piercing  of  hell  and  earthly 
squalor,  in  short  the  whole  normal  entanglement  of  human  function 
in  social  background  with  a skein  of  spiritual  forces  about  its  head, 
as  the  dog  plays  unconsciously  his  part  in  the  master’s  milieu — for 
this  transfigured  life-panorama — only  the  art  of  painting  ventures  to 
be  adequate.  There,  the  very  rhythms  of  line  may  suggest  motion 
and  transitory  phases  which  are  forbidden  to  sculpture.  The  latter 
normally  registers  the  permanent  ; the  former  the  process.  Colour, 
too,  and  light  have  endless  range  of  suggestions,  not  only  realistic 


Famous  Kwannon.  By  Enriuhon  (Yen  Li-pcn) 
Mr.  Charles  L.  Freer. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


123 

backgrounds  but  symbolic  range  of  expressing  well-nigh  inexpressible 
relations.  Heretofore  in  these  chapters  we  have  dealt  almost  ex- 
clusively with  the  severer  form  ; sculpture  seems  to  come  first  within  the 
grasp  of  all  religious  peoples.  But  now  we  are  to  follow  Chinese 
and  Japanese  art  into  the  greater  subtleties  of  painting,  the  ripe  stage 
of  infinite  modulation  in  line  and  colour.  It  is  not  that  sculpture 
will  be  quite  absent  from  any  age,  but  it  will  never  again  become 
the  leader  of  creative  forms.  All  this  relates  too  to  new  phases  of 
temple  worship,  the  more  personal  seclusion  of  the  small  shrine  with 
its  painted  insetting  for  an  altar-piece,  instead  of  the  more  public  and 
more  dominating  statue. 

Chinese  Buddhist  painting  comes  down  to  us  with  the  slim  hair  line, 
derived  originally  from  sculpture,  filled  in  with  richer  and  richer  colouring, 
until  the  severity  of  line  becomes  almost  overlaid  with  the  gorgeousness 
of  mass.  As  the  Tang  dynasty  came  in  and  incorporated  the 
Tartar  style,  which  rather  ran  to  decoration,  the  fine  synthesis  of 
sculptural  line  with  pictorial  colour  could  well  begin.  The  great 
Tang  Court  painters  who  came  before  the  culminating  age  of  Genso, 
like  Enriuhon,  (Yen-Li-pen)  and  Enriutoku,  doubtless  practised  this 
style.  A type  of  it,  which  may  be  ascribed  ultimately  to  Enriuhon, 
is  the  great  seated  Kwannon,  shrouded  in  rich  lace,  of  which  we  have 
dozens  of  replicas  made  during  the  Tang  and  the  Sung  dynasties. 
This  type  in  Japan  is  usually  ascribed  to  Godoshi  ; but  I believe 
that  to  be  a mistake,  quite  like  the  mistake  of  ascribing,  say,  all 
sixteenth-century  Japanese  paintings  to  Motonobu.  The  one  name 
we  know  is  used  to  cover  a multitude  of  styles.  The  largest  and 
perhaps  finest  replica  of  the  Enriuhon  type  of  Kwannon  is  the  great 
painted  kakemono,  ascribed  to  Godoshi,  kept  in  Daitokuji.  This  may 
well  be  of  Tang  workmanship,  though  not  necessarily  from  Enriuhon’s 
own  hand.  A smaller  example,  but  of  very  beautiful  workmanship, 
probably  Sung,  is  in  Mr.  Freer’s  collection.  This  I shall  now 
describe,  as  giving  a fair  account,  probably,  of  Enriuhon’s  lost  original. 
The  figure  sits  on  a rough  rock  of  blue,  green,  and  gold  in  a cave 
whose  stalactites  hang  in  points  above  her  (or  his)  head.  It  is  a 
grand  Kwannon,  the  Bodhisattwa  of  Providence  or  human  sustenance, 
and  here,  as  in  most  Tang  examples  of  this  subject,  wears  a light 
moustache.  This,  and  the  fact  that  the  Sung  Kwannons  are 


124  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

markedly  feminine,  has  led  certain  learned  scholars  to  conclude  that 
Avalokitesvara  was  primarily  masculine,  and  that  the  change  was  due 
to  a clerical  error  of  gender  in  transcribing  some  Sanscrit  or  Pali  term. 
How  shallow  this  view  is  can  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  other  previous 
Kwannons,  the  Chuguji,  for  instance,  of  620  and  the  eleven-headed 
Lake  Biwa  (755),  are  markedly  feminine.  The  truth  is  that  a great 

Bodhisattwa  is  in  its  own  nature  indeterminate  as  to  sex,  having 

risen  above  the  distinction,  or  rather  embodying  in  itself  the  united 
spiritual  graces  of  both  sexes.  It  is  a matter  of  accident  which  one  it 
may  assume  upon  incarnation.  It  just  happens  that  Tang  thought, 
or  preferred  to  think,  of  Kwannon  as  a great  demiurge  or  creator, 

while  Sung  preferred  to  lay  stress  upon  the  element  of  motherhood. 

But  let  me  proceed  with  my  description.  The  lines  are  of  hair 
thickness;  the  shirt  is  caught  over  the  crossed  legs  in  the  remains 
of  sculpturesque  folds  and  openings,  not  unlike  the  Corean  bronze 

type  of  Toindo.  Tartar  Buddhist  art  retained  something  of  this  stiff 
wiry  drapery  even  down  to  Ming.  But  there  is  little  of  stiffness 
above.  The  flesh  is  of  gold,  always  a feature  of  the  Enriuhon  type, 
and  found  thus  combined  with  thick  colouring  in  the  costume  down 
to  later  times  in  Northern  work.  The  head  is  shaped  differently 
from  the  Greco  statues,  being  long  and  oval,  with  rather  a narrow 
forehead.  The  head-dress  is  built  up  into  an  elaborate  tiara  of 
coloured  gems  and  flowers.  But  the  peculiar  feature  of  this  type  is 
the  enshrouding  of  the  whole  body  in  an  elaborate  lace  veil,  painted 
in  thin  tones  of  cream  over  the  heavy  colours,  and  which  hangs 
from  the  top  of  the  tiara.  It  is  the  hair  line  contour  of  the  veil 
which  gives  the  peculiar  proportion  and  line  system  to  these  figures. 
There  is  a kind  of  Gothic  aspiring  of  all  the  lines  to  the  tip  of 
the  head.  A crystal  vase  stands  upon  a jutting  slab  of  rock  on 

the  right.  There  are  two  halos,  both  circular,  and  both  traced  only 
in  a fine  gold  line — one  small,  for  the  head ; one  large,  for  the 
whole  body.  From  the  water  at  his  feet  grow  rich  corals  and  lotos 
buds,  in  a Tang  style  derived  from  Babylonian  Han.  But  a chief 
feature  of  the  thought,  if  not  of  the  composition,  is  a small  Chinese 
child  standing  upon  a rock  in  the  foreground,  with  hands  upraised 
in  prayer.  The  Kwannon  seems  graciously  to  bend  his  glance  down 
to  it.  This  doubtless  typifies  man’s  helplessness  without  supernatural 
guiding — the  reality  of  the  primary  transcendental  relation.  The 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


I25 

colours  are  rich  reds,  carmines,  orange,  greens  and  blues,  heightened 
with  touches  of  gold.  There  is  no  gold  in  the  cream  lace. 

Perhaps  here  were  best  said  what  we  have  to  say  once  for  all 
concerning  the  question  of  genuineness  in  ancient  Chinese  paintings, 
and  of  the  importance  of  copies.  To  the  collectors  and  the  museum 
owners,  in  short  to  the  whole  range  of  the  market  aspect  of  art, 
it  is  a vital  question  whether  an  individual  work  be  ascribable  to 

the  pen  of  any  great  master,  or  whether  it  be  probably  a copy  of 

some  later  date.  The  market  value  naturally  rests  upon  this  point. 
But  the  aesthetic,  archaeologic  and  historical  value  may  be  only 
slightly  lessened  by  an  uncertainty.  Great  masterpieces  that  existed 
in  Tang,  and  before,  became  great  models  on  which  later  masters 

of  Tang  and  Sung  formed  their  styles ; and,  though  the  ripe 

personal  styles  of  these  latter  might  vary  from  these  models,  it  was 
part  of  the  discipline  and  pleasure  of  work  to  make  accurate  copies, 
or  else  transcripts  with  slight  variation.  These  copies  Time  has  so 

softened  that  to-day  they  probably  appear  not  very  unlike  what  the 
originals  would  seem  if  we  had  them,  though  doubtless  something 
of  technical  beauty  has  been  lost.  Yet,  in  the  absence  of  the 

originals,  the  aesthetic  beauties  and  types  of  the  copies  become  of 

priceless  value  in  determining  and  appreciating  qualities  that  other- 
wise would  be  lost  for  ever. 

It  is  quite  like  the  state  of  our  present  knowledge  of  great 

Greek  masterpieces  of  sculpture,  which  have  mostly  vanished.  We 
read  in  Pausanias  of  the  beauties  of  Scopas  and  Praxiteles,  and  the 
pictorial  beauties  of  Polyclites’  Venuses  and  Apollos.  We  know  that 
these  were  all  copied  in  countless  replicas,  some  of  which  made  their 
way  to  the  Roman  palaces  and  villas.  In  a certain  sense  all  later 
classic  art  was  remotely  built  upon  the  traditions  of  such  models,  just 
as  our  postal  cards  and  porcelains  of  to-day  reflect  Fra  Angelicos, 
Raphaels,  and  Bellinis.  The  case  of  Greek  paintings  is  worse,  for 
even  the  sketch  drawings  and  copies  have  mostly  vanished,  and  even  a 
hint  of  the  aesthetic  value  of  that  great  phase  of  art  has  to  be  manu- 
factured. Greek  sculpture  is  not  quite  so  conjectural  as  this,  for  in 
addition  to  the  slender  stock  of  proved  originals  we  have  the 
suggestions  of  a vast  mass  of  replicas  to  build  inferences  upon. 
It  is  only  in  this  way,  for  example,  that  we  know  the  type  of  the 
Phidias  Athene. 


126  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

Now  the  case  of  ancient  Chinese  painting  stands  at  present  much 
as  does  that  of  Greek  masterpieces  in  sculpture.  There  are  very 
few  originals  of  whose  authenticity  we  can  have  documentary  proof. 
But  there  are  a fair  stock  of  pictures  whose  aesthetic  excellences  are  so 
supreme  that  we  can  hardly  imagine  where  the  greater  power  of  an 
original  could  possibly  lie  ; and  so,  as  in  the  perfection  of  the  Hermes 
of  Praxiteles  for  parallel,  we  take  this  markedly  individual  quality  as  the 
very  standard  of  the  original.  Such,  for  example,  is  the  case  with 
the  Mokkei  Kwannon  at  Daitokuji.  Now,  from  this  standard  we  judge 
the  other  claimants,  identifying  followers,  and  judging  pieces  that 
exhibit  slightly  inferior  execution  of  sublime  conceptions  as  probably 
replicas  from  this  master.  For,  after  all — and  this  is  what  dis- 
tinguishes the  real  student  of  beauty  in  art,  of  the  world’s  great  types 
of  beauty,  from  the  personal  pride  of  the  mere  collector — the  supreme 
thing  in  the  world  of  art  is  conception.  Only  the  greatest  men  can 
create  the  supreme  types  of  imaginative  beauty.  It  is  the  followers, 
lesser  men,  who  approximate  more  or  less  closely  to  the  details  of 
execution.  When  they  copy  a great  work  of  their  master,  a conception 
far  beyond  their  own  inspiration,  there  appears  in  their  work,  in  spite 
of  its  possible  shortcomings  in  technique,  a borrowed  splendour  which 
far  transcends  the  finest  example  of  their  independent  creations.  Thus 
a fairly  adequate  copy  of  Mokkei  or  Kakei  is  a thousand  times  more 
valuable  for  any  real  aesthetic  study  than  a whole  gallery  full  of 
Ming  originals. 

And  when  we  go  back  to  Tang  and  pre-Tang,  the  case  stands 
differently  only  to  this  extent  : that  we,  perhaps,  have  no  originals  at 
all  capable  of  documentary  proof,  and  very  few  of  which  we  can  say, 
like  the  Mokkei  Kwannon  of  Sung,  that  no  higher  aesthetic  accomplish- 
ment along  its  special  line  is  conceivable.  Nevertheless,  we  have  a fair 
number  of  pieces  in  which  we  can  feel  that  the  conception  is  so  fine  and 
the  execution  so  high  that  we  are  face  to  face  with  at  least  a direct  and 
close  transcript  of  the  original  splendour.  And  such  pieces,  however 
overshadowed  with  the  ultimate  doubt,  are  of  immeasurably  greater 
value  for  the  student  of  beauty  than  undoubted  originals  of  later  and 
inferior  men.  The  case  is  thus  not  unlike  that  of  many  of  the  great 
Greek  sculptors.  When  we  try  to  translate  the  bare  words  of  Pausanias 
into  real  images  of  the  beauties  of  Scopas,  Myson,  and  Praxiteles,  we 
derive  what  help  we  may  from  the  finest  extant  fragments  which 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


1 27 

seem  to  embody  their  individual  traits.  The  case  is  far  more  hopeful 
than  that  of  Greek  painting,  for  there  we  have,  in  such  dish-water 
copies  of  copies  as  Pompeii  presents,  hardly  a hint  of  what  their  real 
aesthetic  merit  must  have  been.  If  we  should  unearth  to-day  or  to- 
morrow from  long-buried  ruins  a group  of  encaustics  immeasurably 
superior  to  later  Roman  pictures,  but  without  documentary  evidence, 
we  should  esteem  it  an  unspeakable  fortune,  and  should  devote  the 
utmost  effort  to  establish,  on  aesthetic  grounds,  the  possibility  that 
here  we  had  the  replica  of  such  and  such  a vanished  masterpiece. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  few  transcendent  pieces  of  ancient  Chinese 
painting  were  lost  to  us,  we  should  be  in  the  same  sad  state  as  we 
now  are  concerning  Greek.  We  should  never  divine  even  a hint  of 
what  a glorious  school  of  art  China  had  once  possessed.  The  case 
is  just  that  of  the  sudden  unearthing  of  the  Greek  masterpieces — alas, 
hardly  to  be  hoped  for — for  we  have  unearthed  dozens  of  supreme 
pictures  which  we  are  forced  to  relate  back  to  the  master  conceptions 
of  Tang  genius.  It  is  in  this  sense,  then,  that  we  shall  speak  of 
Enriuhon,  Godoshi,  Zengetsu  Daishi,  and  Ririomin  with  at  least  as 
much  right  as  we  speak  of  the  styles  of  all  Greek  sculptors  but 
Phidias. 

We  do  not  know  whether  any  great  Tang  masterpieces  yet 
remain  in  Chinese  collections  ; for  an  archaeological  exploration  of 
China  cannot  even  be  said  to  have  begun.  But  Japanese  critics  of 

this  and  recent  ages  who  have  had  the  privilege  of  examining  the 
collections  of  Peking  mandarins,  or  of  deriving  traces  through  Peking 
dealers,  assert  that  there  is  almost  no  probability  of  finding  such 
work  in  that  capital.  It  is  more  probable  that  changes  of  taste 
have  so  distorted  the  eye  of  modern  China,  that  not  a scholar  of 
Peking  to-day  has  the  least  power  of  conceiving  what  an  original  of 

Tang  would  be  like.  Modern  Chinese  alleged  copies  have  about  as 

much  weight  as  if  a New  York  dealer  in  American  impressionists 

should  mark  one  of  these  as  based  upon  an  original  Giotto.* 


In  Japan,  at  present,  we  may  still  look  for  hopeful  traces. 
Into  Japan  have  been  imported  for  centuries — especially  at  first  in 

* Since  this  was  written  much  has  occurred  in  China  which  would  have  given  the 
writer  a different  point  of  view. — The  Ed. 


128  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries,  later  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth,  and 
still  later  in  the  fifteenth  century — what  great  masterpieces  of  China 
could  be  seized  upon.  It  is  not  probable  that  they  always  got  the 

supreme  examples  which  they  claimed  ; yet,  at  the  first  at  least  of 
these  periods,  Japanese  artists  and  scholars  of  the  ripest  power  made 
the  selections.  Granting  that  most  pieces  extant  in  Japan  came  in 
with  Ashikaga  importation  in  the  fifteenth  century,  it  was  as  keen  an 
eye  as  Sesshu’s  that  passed  judgment  on  them,  Sesshu  who  had  travelled 
for  years  as  China’s  honoured  guest,  and  been  recognized  by  the 
Chinese  Court  as  a greater  artist  than  any  of  their  contemporary 
Ming.  He  must  have  had  every  opportunity  to  distinguish  the  really 
great  old  masterpieces  of  China  from  shallow  copies,  just  as  an 
American  critic  can  distinguish  to-day  between  a real  and  a sham 
Rembrandt  that  a European  dealer  might  send  us.  Indeed,  Japan 
was  then  herself  the  successor  and  leader  of  “ the  Chinese  school,” 
and  could  command  genuine  examples.  Most  later  Japanese  tradition 
as  to  genuineness  and  attribution  has  been  based  upon  the  Ashikaga 
knowledge  ot  Sesshu  and  his  compeers,  quite  as  Ming  traditions  of 
Tang  had  been  based  upon  Sung  criticisms.  And  we  must  remember 
that  in  Sesshu’s  day,  a Sung  copy  would  appear  only  200  years  old, 
whereas  an  early  Tang  copy  or  original  would  appear  700.  The  gap 
to  his  eye  would  be  far  greater  than  it  would  to  ours,  for  after  about 
400  years  of  age  all  silks,  barring  accidents,  become  of  nearly 
equal  tone.  And  just  as  Sesshu  was  able  to  sift  the  traditions 
of  Sung  through  Ming  ; and  the  early  Kanos,  Masanobu  and 
Motonobu,  inherited  them  through  Sesshu  ; land  Tanyu,  the  great 
early  Tokugawa  Court  painter,  inherited  from  Motonobu  ; and 
Kano  Isen,  the  great  eclectic  painter  and  critic  of  1840,  based  his 
re-examination  of  the  whole  amount  of  evidence  upon  Tanyu  ; so  I, 
in  humbler  degree,  have  tried  to  resift  the  accumulation  of  tradition 
and  fresh  evidence  with  the  critical  instrument  put  into  my  hand 

by  Isen’s  son  and  grandson,  my  personal  teachers.  It  is  in  my 

opinion  the  Japanese  line  of  examples  and  traditions  therefore,  rather 
than  the  effete  and  diluted  Chinese,  which  must  become  the  starting- 
point  of  European  evaluation.  A certain  school  of  young  Japanese 

of  to-day,  however — who  came  too  late  to  be  trained  by  an  unbroken 
line  of  feeling  from  the  past,  and  who  have  almost  forgotten  the 
great  Kanos  who  worked  under  the  Shogun  before  1868 — seem 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING  129 

disposed  to  throw  away  all  key  of  tradition  and  to  reject  all 
evidence  that  cannot  be  proved  to  be  documentary.  In  this  spirit 

they  assert  that  no  Tang  masterpieces  whatever  exist,  and  of  even 
such  a recent  Japanese  artist  as  Matahei,  that  he  never  lived.  But 
they  make  the  mistake  of  rejecting  the  unrivalled  documentary  value 
that  lives  in  a work  of  art  itself.  To  an  eye  for  whom  supreme 
proportions  and  rhythms  are  eloquent,  documents  themselves  that 
may  be  forged  are  far  more  suspicious.  Those  European  sinologues 
who  regard  one  Chinese  inscription  as  good  as  another,  unless  they 
have  also  the  keen  eye  for  artistic  individuality,  are  at  the  mercy 
of  an  unknown  pen.  It  is  a mistake  not  to  build  at  least,  how- 
ever much  we  may  modify  the  superstructure,  upon  the  foundation 
of  contemporary  tradition,  a kind  of  living  intellectual  substance, 
that  came  down  from  Sung  through  Sesshu  to  the  Japanese  of 
1868.  With  this  body  of  tradition  thrown  aside,  a Japanese  scholar 
to-day  is  as  far  removed  from  Ming,  and  even  Kano  Isen,  as 
we  are  removed  by  the  cataclysm  of  the  Middle  Ages  from  classic 
tradition. 

One  more  thing  should  be  added  of  the  copies  which  generations 
of  later  Japanese  artists  have  made  from  what  they  deemed  Chinese 
originals.  In  so  far  as  these  artists  have  been  careful  and  skilful, 
these  replicas,  even  with  modifications,  are  true  lines  of  insight  into 
the  past,  as  much  so  as  those  of  the  old  Chinese  copyists,  down 
to  early  Ming.  It  is  quite  different  with  the  modern  Chinese 

copyists,  for  their  taste  is  changed  and  their  tradition  lost.  But 
the  Japanese  are  in  some  sense  the  true  custodians  of  the  secret — 
and  consciously  careful  copies  made  as  late  as  Isen  and  Tanshin  of 
the  19th  century,  are  of  very  great  value.  These  artists  had 
practically  the  whole  range  of  all  the  daimios  and  temple  collections, 
as  we  shall  see  in  a later  chapter.  Further  research  will  only 
demonstrate  the  fundamental  truths  of  those  bases  of  criticism  which 
1 have  just  laid  down. 

It  is  time  we  returned  from  this  digression  to  the  great  period 
of  Genso  Kotei  at  Loyang.  Here  the  great  pictorial  genius  who 
overshadowed  the  world  was  Godoshi  (Wu-Tao-Tzu),  whom  we  have 
already  noticed  as  a painter  of  landscape.  Godoshi  was  first  of  all  a 
great  Buddhist  painter,  who  had  to  find  ways  of  expressing  the  new 
vast  conceptions  of  his  day.  Such  antique  and  hieratic  forms  even  as 


130  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

the  charming  lace  Kwannon  of  Enriuhon  he  wished  to  discard  ; to 
become  more  direct,  more  human,  more  like  an . actual  vision.  For 
this  he  determined  upon  a technique  which  had  wrapped  up  in  it 
the  whole  future  destiny  of  Oriental  art.  This  was  to  go  back  to 
the  flexible  brush  stroke  and  thick  line  of  Kogaishi  (Ku-Kai-Chih), 
expand  its  force,  make  it  more  flexible,  more  capable  of  passing  in 
a single  stroke  from  a solid  mass  to  a hair  line,  more  able  to 

achieve  passages  of  contrast  between  rough-edged  strokes  and  smoother 
sleek  ones. 

The  power  of  the  pen  in  writing  had  now  advanced  far  beyond 
the  southern  beginnings  of  Ogishi  (Wang  Hsi-Chih)  and  Kogaishi. 
The  Tang  dynasty,  and  particularly  the  eighth  century,  is  the  very 
culmination  of  power  and  beauty  in  Chinese  writing.  It  is  natural 

that  a similar  force  should  pass  into  the  line  with  painting.  After 
all,  there  has  never  been  another  painter’s  tool  in  the  world,  brush, 
charcoal,  or  burin,  which  compares  in  force,  ease  and  gradation  with 
the  great  Chinese  brush.  To  be  sure  it  enwraps  all  painting  in  a 
convention — the  convention  that  the  line  which  bounds  things  shall 
be  visible.  But  no  art  can  be  free  from  some  convention.  Its 

characteristic  beauties  lie  in  the  very  terms  of  the  convention. 
Convention  is  not  an  inevitable  restraint  which  we  deplore,  but  the 
fertile  language  of  an  invention  which  we  joy  to  use.  It  would 
be  absurd  to  deplore  that  the  ecstasies  of  music  are  limited  by  the 
conventions  of  sound-relationships,  nay,  of  the  very  instruments  that 
produce  the  sound.  So  fresco  painting  thrives  on  its  technique  ; the 
beauty  of  perfect  bronze  work  is  inimitable  in  other  material.  So  in 
oil  painting,  the  great  craftsman  gets  beauty  by  the  placing  of  his  broad 
flat  strokes — the  brushwork  is  the  art.  And  in  Chinese  painting  of 
the  grand  school  of  Tang  it  is  only  another  kind  of  brushwork. 

Why  should  painting  eschew  line,  in  order  for  ever  to  make  of  itself 
a kind  of  coloured  sculpture  ? It  is  not  things  that  we  want  in  art, 
but  the  beauty  of  things  ; and  if  this  beauty  dwells  largely  in  their 
line,  their  boundaries  of  space,  their  proportions  and  shapes,  and  the 
unity  and  system  of  the  line  rhythms,  it  is  a glorious  convention  that 
can  seize  on  just  that  and  make  supreme  music  out  of  it.  As 
Godoshi  used  them,  the  brush  lines  became  great  “lead  lines,”  much 
as  we  use  them  in  our  best  stained-glass  windows,  making  the  lead 
supports  carry  the  eye  to  the  form  elements  of  the  composition.  Only 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


1 3 1 

the  Godoshi  lead-line  is  far  more  flexible  and  suave,  in  that  it  can 
thin  itself  out  to  a hair  when  it  likes.  Probably  the  great  early  Greek 
painting  of  Polyclites  was  of  this  sort,  and  line  is  primary  in  all  their 
vase-painting  and  mosaic.  It  does  not  follow,  either,  that  because  line 
is  so  strong  that  colour  and  mass  must  necessarily  be  thin.  Godoshi 
would  fill  up  his  interspaces,  the  openings  between  the  lines,  with 
strong  patches  of  colour,  relieved  in  deep  mosaic  effect  one  against 
another,  not  necessarily  quite  flat,  but  relying  more  for  their  modu- 
lation upon  the  turn  of  the  line  and  the  deepening  of  colour  which 
supported  it  than  upon  the  eternal  modelling  of  the  colour,  as  with 
hair-line  or  no-line  painting. 

It  may  suit  some  of  us  to  cast  slurs  upon  this  as  a “ primitive 
method;  and  indeed,  if  “ripe”  or  “advanced”  be  defined  by  that 
realism  which  always  precedes  decay,  it  is  primitive.  But  it  is  the  very 
method  of  health.  It  is  one  of  the  noblest  conventions  of  art,  even  if 
not  the  only  one.  For  the  aim  of  real  art  evolution  is  not  to  come 
nearer  and  nearer  to  a coloured  photograph,  but  if  possible  to  put  more 
and  more  grandeur  and  refined  beauty  into  our  spaces,  our  porportions, 
and  our  systems  of  line  rhythm.  This  is  the  very  language  of  visual 
art,  as  much  so  as  tone  is  of  musical.  Therefore  there  is  a certain  primal 
and  universal  energy  in  Godoshi’s  design  which  has  hardly  been  sur- 
passed in  the  whole  range  of  the  world’s  art.  It  establishes  itself  side 
by  side  with  Phidias  and  Michel  Angelo  ; not  that  its  convention  is 
just  like  theirs,  but  that  its  space  and  line  ideas  possess  a parallel 
grandeur.  It  may  almost  be  declared  to  be  the  world’s  supreme  type  in 
grandeur  of  delineation.  And  it  must  not  fail  of  recognition  that  this 
very  grandeur  of  type  and  of  porportion  is  indeed  a relic  imbedded 
in  Chinese  art  by  Greco-Buddhist  taste,  even  though  the  specifically 
Greek  form  be  changed.  Godoshi’s  art  thus  uses  all  that  has  come 
down  to  it  from  the  past — Pacific  ruggedness,  Han  rhythm,  the  fine 
sculpture  of  the  early  South,  the  rich  colour  of  the  Tartar  North,  the 
dignity  of  Greco-Buddhism,  and  now  the  absolute  pictorial  form  of 
independent  brushwork. 

That  Godoshi  achieved  mighty  fame  in  his  own  day  we  have  it 
from  contemporary  records.  We  have  glimpses  of  him  as  the  idol  of 
the  people,  watched  by  them  as  he  covered  enormous  wall  surfaces  with 
great  rolling  or  fighting  masses  of  spiritual  beings  : panoramas  of  heaven 
and  hell,  strange  adventures  from  the  life  of  the  saints,  flaming  deities, 


132  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

and  the  wrath  of  gods  upon  the  world,  and  the  imperial  splendours  of 
a great  Buddhist  Court.  He  is  not  like  Michel  Angelo  toiling  lonely 
in  the  Sistine  Chapel  among  a generation  out  of  sympathy  with  his 
sternness  ; rather  like  Phidias  satisfying  ripe  public  taste  with  the  highest 
expression  of  its  own  beliefs.  In  the  absence  of  newspapers  such  a 
public  art  becomes  a kind  of  organ  for  self-realization. 

Some  critics  claim  that  no  genuine  pieces  of  Godoshi  have  come 
down  to  our  own  day  ; but  we  can  come  very  close  to  him  at  a number 
of  points,  close  enough  to  understand  his  dominion  over  the  Eastern 
world,  close  enough  to  evaluate  him  in  relation  to  the  Western  world. 
There  remain  three  or  four  main  types  of  his  design  which  have  come 
down  to  us  in  several  more  or  less  accurate  copies.  The  first  that  we 
shall  consider  is  the  lace  Kwannon  and  child  type.  This  may  have  been 
an  early  thought  of  his,  taking  the  conception  of  the  very  richly  veiled 
Bosatsu  from  Eriuhon  and  early  masters,  but  translating  it  into  a 
magnificence  of  thick  juicy  line  never  before  conceived.  This  type  has 
probably  existed  in  Japan  in  more  than  one  version.  One  of  these 
must  have  been  seen  by  Kano  Hogai  in  his  early  youth,  for  it  was 
evidently  used  by  him  in  making  up  his  two  great  versions  of  the 
“ Creation  of  Man.”  The  version  which  I shall  now  describe,  and 
which  was  brought  to  America  from  Japan  in  1904,  is  in  the  great 
collection  of  Mr.  Freer,  and  is  doubtless  the  pen-work  of  some  great 
master  of  Sung.  The  superlative  grandeur,  however  — far  beyond 
ordinary  Sung  reach  and  clearly  Tang  in  flavour — proves  that  the 
main  elements  of  the  design  must  have  belonged  to  Godoshi.  There 
are  rumours  of  another  version,  possibly  older,  concealed  in  one 
of  Japan’s  great  hereditary  collections — all  of  which  have  not  yet 
been  thoroughly  explored. 

The  design,  which  is  very  large,  shows  a standing  Kwannon  of 
great  dignity  and  height,  and  enveloped  in  a lace  veil,  which  descends 
from  Heaven  upon  a cloud-like  mass  that  breaks  into  the  actual  foam 
of  water  as  it  pierces  space.  This  method  of  exhibiting  water  as 
the  pure  elementary  symbol  of  Kwannon  is  unique  so  far  as  I know. 
Kwannon  usually  sits  by  the  sea,  she  has  holy  water  in  a crystal  vase  ; 
but  to  descend  through  space  on  leaping  foaming  water  is  a Godoshi 
creation  which  Hogai  has  borrowed.  The  remains  of  a great  cloud- 
curtain  pull  aside  at  the  top,  half  concealing  the  tiara,  which  in  this 
case  is  not  pointed  but  heavy  and  square.  This  raised  canopy  of  the 


Standing  Ivwannon.  By  Godoshi  (Wu  Tao-tzu). 
Collection  of  Mr.  Charles  L.  Freer. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


r33 


curtain  makes  the  figure  seem  more  like  an  actual  revelation,  as  in  the 
Sistine  Madonna  of  Raphael.  But  to  what  does  he — there  is  clearly  a 
moustache — descend  ? This  time  to  two  boys  who  are  playing  in- 
nocently upon  a bright  cloud,  trying  to  plant  fresh  lotos  flowers  in 
vases.  These  boys  typify  the  originally  spiritual  nature  of  man,  and 
their  occupation  his  naturally  religious  instinct.  But  rolling  in  from  the 
right  is  a sinister  dark-green  cloud,  which  seems  like  a crouching  dragon 
with  a flat  toad  head.  Godoshi  has  not  deigned  to  represent  an 
actual  dragon,  as  Cho  Densu  has  done  in  his  front-faced  Kwannon. 
The  mere  cloud  is  more  suggestive  of  the  coming  evil  and  of  man’s 
dual  nature.  But  the  great  gracious  figure,  looking  down  upon  these 
unconscious  children  with  the  hint  of  a beneficent  smile,  bears  for  them 
salvation  and  spiritual  sustenance.  In  his  raised  left  hand  he  sways 
the  wisp  of  willow  which  in  other  pictures  sits  in  a vase,  as  if 

he  were  actually  sprinkling  his  proteges  with  the  water  of  baptism ; 
and  in  his  right  he  carries  in  a wicker  basket  a great  tai  fish  as  the 
symbol  of  spiritual  sustenance.  Here  is  where  I think  I detect  a trace 
of  Sung  imagination.  The  Sung  Kwannon  with  a fish  is  dressed  as  a 

fisherman’s  daughter.  The  tai  here  is  too  large,  too  much  in  evidence, 

and  its  somewhat  coarse  symbolism  is  not  in  harmony  with  that  treat- 
ment which  only  suggested  a dragon  in  the  green  cloud.  Therefore, 
I believe  that  this  fish-basket  did  not  exist  in  the  Godoshi  original, 

but  that  the  right  hand  took  come  other  attitude,  possibly  pouring 
water  from  a vase,  as  in  Hogai’s  version.  But,  leaving  out  this  one 
feature,  I believe  we  have  substantially  the  Godoshi  creation. 

Aesthetically  the  first  noticeable  feature  is  the  magnificent  spacing. 
The  vertical  mass  of  the  Kwannon,  which  dominates  three-quarters  of  the 
picture’s  height,  gets  space  from  the  large  mass  of  sky  on  the  left, 
and  breaks  at  the  bottom  into  the  horizontal  masses  of  the  water, 
clouds,  and  boys,  that  form  for  her  a kind  of  aesthetic  base.  This 
sumptuous  simplicity  of  spacing  only  the  fish  breaks.  And  the  rhythms 
of  the  transition  are  not  graceful  and  decorative,  but  massive  and 
rugged.  There  is  no  obvious  premeditated  system  of  curvature.  The 
boys  are  drawn  with  naive  simplicity,  of  a size  which  is  a great  gain 
upon  the  little  insignificant  figure  in  the  Enriuhon  conception.  Even 
the  lotos  is  spiky,  scorning  the  pretty  sculptural  outlines  of  petals. 

The  drawing  of  the  Kwannon,  set  at  an  angle  to  the  spectator,  is 
superb.  Not  only  the  drapery  but  the  flesh  portions  are  full  of 


134  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

life  and  movement.  The  two  feet,  swathed  in  crinkly  masses  of  soft 
stuff,  sit  with  fine  solidity  upon  the  small  lotos  shoes.  The  raised  arm 
and  hand  with  the  willow  are  the  most  graceful  things  in  art.  But 
perhaps  nothing  can  surpass  the  fine  rounded  head,  with  its  short  nose, 
its  wonderful  slits  of  eyes,  and  its  lotos-bud  of  a mouth  ; probably 
the  finest  Kwannon  face  in  all  Chinese  and  Japanese  art. 

If  we  were  to  dilate  upon  all  the  intricate  rhythms  of  the  drapery 
lines,  of  the  splendours  of  crown,  jewelry,  and  lace  mantle,  we 
should  have  to  expand  this  book  to  another  volume.  Of  course 
words  quite  fail,  and  yet  it  is  worth  pointing  out  that  all  which  I 
have  said  of  t(  lead-lines  ” in  general,  and  of  Godoshi’s  line  in  par- 
ticular, is  here  magnificently  exemplified.  What  the  rhythm  of  such 

flexible  line  may  become  is  seen  in  the  complicated  yet  easy  knotting 
of  the  loose  end  of  the  under-garment  gathered  over  the  abdomen. 
Again,  when  the  several  kinds  of  drapery  flow  over  the  feet — under- 
skirt, garment,  mantle,  and  veil — there  is  line-wealth  almost  worthy 
of  the  Parthenon  female  torsos.  Here  in  the  very  photograph  colour 
is  indicated  : in  the  lines  even,  the  relative  forces  of  which,  translated 
from  colour  and  texture  with  dark  and  light,  exemplify  well  the 
technical  quality  “ notan  of  line.”  The  drawing  of  the  veil  in  cream- 
white  is  a new  thing,  the  lines  being  more  thick,  more  forceful, 

and  more  decisive  than  the  gauzy  suggestions  of  Enriuhon.  That 

still  retains  Indian  feeling.  This  is  frankly  Chinese ; the  whole  pic- 
ture, indeed,  shows  just  how  Chinese  Buddhist  painting  takes  rank  in 
spiritual  force  and  expression  far  above  Indian,  or  any  other  racial 
species,  in  fact.  For  it  is  true  that  though  a few  Japanese  painters 
come  somewhere  near  this  ripe  line-grandeur  of  Godoshi,  they  do  not 
quite  reach  it. 

It  remains  to  speak  a word  of  the  colour.  This  is  far  less 
opulent  and  gaudy  than  the  Enriuhon  piece.  A little  strong  red, 
blue,  and  green  are  found  on  the  boys.  The  Kwannon’s  drapery 
has  subdued  shades  of  these,  tending  to  olives.  Fine  patterning,  low 

tone  upon  tone,  overlies  the  garments.  There  is  no  gold  anywhere, 

not  even  on  the  crown  and  the  jewels.  All  is  suggested  by  firm  tint 
only.  It  is  the  flesh  colour  of  the  Kwannon,  however,  that  dominates 
all,  being  now  an  intimate  grouping  of  rich,  warm  tones  of  purplish 
reds,  not  unlike  the  tones  that  Abbot  Thayer  puts  into  his  flesh,  but 
more  glowing.  Really,  the  colour  is  hardly  inferior  to  the  line. 


Godoshi  " Shaka.” 

Mr.  Charles  L.  Freer. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


Another  Godoshi  type,  preserved  in  several  replicas  by  Yeiga,  Cho 
Densu,  and  Motonobu,  is  of  a seated  front-facing  Kwannon.  Some- 
where may  be  hidden  a Chinese  original  from  which  all  of  these  were 
taken  between  the  fourteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  and  which  is 
not  known  to  our  generation.  We  believe  the  great  Motonobu  paint- 
ing, formerly  one  of  the  greatest  treasures  of  Marquis  Hachisuka’s 
collection,  and  now  in  the  Fenollosa  collection  at  Boston,  to  come 
the  nearest  to  Godoshi.  This  was  a most  celebrated  picture  in  both 
Ashikaga  and  early  Tokugawa  days,  as  is  shown  by  the  existence  in 
the  Kano  archives  of  a magnificent  copy  of  it  by  Tanyu.  I knew 
this  copy  before  the  original  turned  up  in  the  great  emporium  of 
Yamanaka  in  Osaka,  about  1882.  It  had  been  given  away  to  a 
retainer  by  the  Marquis,  as  so  many  daimo  treasures  were  given  in 
the  sad  parting  of  ten  years  before,  when  families  of  faithful  retainers, 
loyal  through  seven  centuries  some  of  them,  were  absolved  from  their 
feudal  vows  and  became  citizens  of  a new  democratic  Japan.  Treasures 
like  this  soon  found  their  way  into  pawnshops,  and  so,  at  a day  when 
the  revived  taste  of  a new  aristocracy  had  not  yet  formed,  into  the 

general  market.  I thus  bought  for  twenty-five  yen  what  would  be 
worth  thousands  were  it  sold  in  Japan  to-day. 

The  noble  figure,  clothed  in  a single  ample  mantle  of  solid  white, 
shows  flesh  tints,  and  a little  green  at  waist  and  in  crown.  The 

severity  of  the  composition  is  to  be  remarked.  The  veil  has  been 

discarded.  Jewels  have  been  reduced  to  a minimum.  There  is  nothing 
but  the  lines  of  the  one  drapery,  but  these  are  most  magnificent — like 
the  complicated  massing  of  folds  in  a splendid  marble  statue.  Only 

the  utmost  care  has  been  lavished  on  these  brush  lines,  their  purity, 
their  tapering,  their  length,  their  strength.  The  force  in  the  stroke  is 
transcendent.  What  strikes  one  chiefly  about  these  lines  is  their 
angularity,  very  different  from  the  rounded  touches  that  Motonobu 
frequently  delights  in.  It  is  this  unwonted  dignity  of  the  line  systems 
that  leads  me  to  ascribe  the  essential  in  the  creation  to  Godoshi’s  mind. 
The  background  is  naturally  treated,  a gap  between  two  cliffs  through 
which  two  large  circular  halos  are  faintly  seen.  Waves  plash  up  at  the 
bottom.  Since  similar  landscape  occurs  in  the  Yeiga  version,  it  probably 
goes  back  to  China,  though  the  details  have  been  modified  by  Motonobu. 

We  come  now  to  the  great  Godoshi  design  of  Sakyamuni  (Shaka), 
the  last  historical  Buddha.  This  exists  in  at  least  two  versions,  one  of 


136  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

which,  the  centre  of  the  Tofukuji  triptych,  has  always  been  held  by 
Japanese  critics  as  not  only  a genuine  Godoshi,  but  the  standard  of 
Godoshi.  1 am  inclined  to  believe  it  the  genuine  thing,  partly  because 
the  face  is  so  much  superior  to  even  the  great  Sung  heads.  If  a Sung 
copy,  it  should  be  by  Ririomin.  It  has  influenced  Sesshu  and  all  the 
great  Japanese  creators.  The  Buddha  sits  cross-legged  on  a rock,  with 
hands  folded  under  his  robe  in  one  of  the  mystic  and  secret  finger 
symbols.  (In.)  The  robe  is  of  a quiet  smouldering  red  that  flames 
up  at  the  angles  into  orange.  A fine  lotos  pattern  is  worked  over  this 
robe,  which  in  the  gleaming  orange  portions  heightens  into  gold.  The 
colour  of  the  face  is  rich  Venetian  flesh.  But  the  extraordinary  power 
lies  in  the  line,  the  most  spiky,  splintery,  modulating  and  solid  of  any 
ot  the  Godoshi  pieces.  It  takes  on  the  very  splendour  of  textures  while 
it  stands  as  supreme  decoration.  The  solid  masses  of  the  head,  aided 
by  the  rich  notan  of  the  colours,  make  it  and  the  shoulders  and  the 
hands  rise  up  like  great  cliffs  of  mountains.  There  is  something 
elemental  and  ultimate  about  it.  All  that  is  small  in  one  actually 
shrivels  before  the  original.  As  you  sit  before  it,  it  grips  you  with  a 
direct  spiritual  power  which  no  one  of  the  early  statues  but  Shotoku 
Taishi’s  Chuguji  Kwannon  possesses.  This  shows  the  very  finest  use  of 
the  Tang  lead-lines. 

The  other  replica  of  this  piece,  of  about  the  same  size,  is  the  great 
Shaka  owned  by  Mr.  Freer — which  will  be  in  the  national  collection  at 
Washington,  and  which  came  from  the  collection  of  the  Japanese  artist 
Zeshin,  along  with  the  Rakans  by  Ririomin.  In  probably  was  imported 
into  Japan  at  the  same  time  with  the  Rakans,  and  was  used  with  them 
in  temple  service.  The  disposition  of  the  drapery  is  exactly  the  same 
as  the  Godoshi  piece,  and  only  the  lines  are  a bit  less  juicy  than  the 
Tofukuji  piece,  and  the  colour  is  colder.  The  chief  difference,  however, 
lies  in  the  head,  which  is  more  clearly  of  a Sung  type,  something  like 
the  heads  of  Choshokio’s  Shakas.  That  is,  the  face  is  more  emaciated, 
like  a sorrowing  Christ’s,  and  the  hair  is  less  sculptural,  being  scattered 
into  long  fine  locks  tossing  in  the  wind.  The  Tofukuji,  if  not  the 
original,  is  probably  a Tang  copy  of  it  ; the  Freer  is  probably  an  early 
Sung  adaptation,  but  probably  not  by  Ririomin.  Both  are  among  the 
finest  paintings  left  us  by  any  ancient  race. 

The  other  two  paintings  of  the  Tofukuji  triptych,  are  a young 
Monju  with  his  lion,  and  a young  Fugen  upon  an  elephant  : the 


The  Monju  of  Tofukuji. 

By  Godoshi  (Wu  Tao-tzu). 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


*37 

regular  companions  of  the  Sakyamuni  Trinity  in  both  the  Tendai  and 
the  Ten  sects,  as  distinct  from  the  Amida  and  Yakushi  Trinities.  Both 
of  these  were  probably  historical  personages,  the  Monju  being  identified 
with  an  early  Indian  missionary  to  Nepaul.  However  this  may  be, 
Monju  is  generally  represented  with  a roll  of  scripture  in  one  hand, 
and  a jewelled  wand  in  the  other  ; and  he  symbolizes  the  power  of 
scripture,  of  inspiration,  of  divine  interpretation.  Fugen  varies,  some- 
times holding  a mace  like  Monju’s,  sometimes  an  open  book,  or  a 
lettered  scroll  ; and  he  symbolizes  the  power  of  church  organization, 
of  ritual,  of  the  communion  of  the  saints.  So  that  we  may  regard 
this  well-known  Trinity  as  a human  embodiment  of  the  original  “ Three 
Precious  Things,”  so  often  recurring  in  scripture  and  in  prayer — “ the 
Law,  the  Church,  and  the  Buddha  ” — corresponding  indeed  in  a certain 
real  sense  to  “ Father,  Holy  Ghost,  and  Son.” 

In  this  Monju  of  Tufukuji  we  have  Godoshi’s  most  charming  and 
gracious  figure  ; a youth  with  beautiful  Greek  head,  long  hair  falling 
over  his  shoulders,  and  a splendid  drawing  of  soft  drapery  not  unlike 
that  of  the  standing  Kwannon.  The  gold  upon  the  jewels  has  probably 
been  retouched,  detracting  a little  from  the  solid  power  of  the  presence. 
The  Fugen  is  more  crabbed  in  line,  and  seems  more  like  a copy  than 
the  other  two.  But  there  is  another  splendid  Fugen  at  Mioshinji, 

which,  though  ascribed  to  the  Sung  artist  Barin,  can  have  no  relation 
to  him  except  as  a copyist.  It  is  surely  a design  of  Tang  (To), 
though  possibly,  on  account  of  its  unquiet  lines  of  drapery — more  like 
those  of  Fugetsu — to  be  ascribed  to  a later  date  in  Tang  than  Godoshi. 
Even  so,  it  has  probably  been  originally  based  upon  Godoshi,  and 
exhibits  his  power  and  presence.  This  is  of  an  older  man,  square- 
headed, with  hair  matted  as  if  wet,  yet  swept  forward  in  the  same 
spiritual  draft  that  disarranges  the  drapery.  The  lines  do  not  have 
the  Godoshi  modulation.  This  piece  has  strongly  influenced  Sesshu. 

Altogether  we  must  regard  Godoshi,  whether  as  compared  with 
architects,  sculptors,  or  painters,  as  one  of  the  very  greatest  of  the  line 
masters  of  the  world.  His  figures  do  not  look  cheap,  even  when  seen 
in  the  same  blow  of  the  eye  with  photographs  of  Phidias  and 
Michel  Angelo. 

Of  early  Tang  paintings,  not  related  to  Godoshi,  there  are  many  in 
the  form  of  Rakan  pictures,  nearly  square,  showing  the  doings  of  the 
Arhats,  or  Buddhist  saints  in  the  flesh.  Animals  and  primitive  tree 

VOL.  i. 


M 


1 38  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

drawing  enter  into  these.  The  flesh  is  often  outlined  in  red.  The 
composition  is  not  elaborate.  Yet  there  is  sometimes  a solid  grandeur 
about  the  spacing,  and  a very  rich  colour — working  between  blue,  green 
and  strange  oranges — which  raise  them  to  high  rank.* 

The  aesthetic  reign  of  Genso  was  disturbed  in  755  by  a great  palace 
intrigue  headed  by  the  powerful  alien  courtier  whom  Genso  had  be- 
friended, and  who  is  popularly  supposed  to  have  been  in  collusion  with 
the  “ Helen  ” of  China,  Genso’s  lovely  young  comrade,  Yokihi.  In 
the  mad  flight  from  the  capital,  Yokihi  paid  for  her  sins  with  her  life; 
and  Genso  was  forced  by  his  few  faithful  generals  to  abdicate  in  favour 
of  his  son.  The  revolt  was  finally  put  down,  but  Genso  returned, 
a solitary  old  man,  to  a ruined  capital.  Rihaku  and  Toshimi  have 
left  powerful  political  satires  upon  these  disordered  times,  and  later 
poets  have  dwelt  upon  their  pathos.  The  supposed  perfect  union 
between  Buddhism  and  Confucianism  had  shown  the  rift  deep  down  in 
the  former.  Puritanism  was  driven  at  least  one  stage  toward  self- 
consciousness,  and  had  now  a weapon  in  its  hand. 

But,  far  away  from  the  capital,  on  beautiful  Tendai  mountain,  the 
secret  Buddhism  of  lofty  rights  and  superhuman  purification  went  on 
under  the  great  Daishi  and  his  successor,  Ejitsu  of  Toji.  A peculiar 
art  grew  up  in  those  sacred  regions,  which  partakes  of  the  general 
nature  of  Tang  art,  yet  forms  a special  brand  of  it.  I refer  first  to 
the  hieratic  altar  pieces,  or  Mandara  (mystic  circles),  which,  hung  before 
the  advanced  pupil  or  officiating  priest,  showed  him  the  higher  spiritual 
categories  in  their  proper  involution  and  integrating,  gave  him  a 
detailed  inventory  both  of  the  cosmos  and  ot  the  psychic,  and  helped 
him  in  the  verbal  invocation.  Such  Mandara  were  brought  back  to 
Japan  by  students  from  that  island  who  had  gone  to  China  especially 
to  enrol  themselves  as  neophytes  at  Tendai.  Some  of  them  are  in 


* The  enumeration  and  location  of  other  Tang  (To)  paintings  in  Japan  were  among 
the  things  the  writer  left  blank.  He  intended  to  supply  these  and  all  other  deficiencies 
when  he  could  get  to  Japan  again,  have  access  to  archives,  and  consult  with  old  colleagues. 
In  attempting  to  follow  out  his  wishes  the  editor  went  in  person  to  Japan,  remaining 
through  the  spring  of  19 10,  and  received  priceless  assistance  upon  all  such  points  of  doubt. 
In  this  case,  the  one  piece  of  information  concerned  a picture  called  “Tenjukoku  Mandara,” 
Tenjukoku  being  the  “ after-name  ” of  the  Japanese  Prince  “ Shotoku.”  It  is  not  even  a 
painting,  but  a very  ancient  piece  of  fine  embroidery,  said  to  have  been  done  by  the  ladies 
of  the  Tang  court  from  a design  by  a contemporary  artist.  It  is  now  mounted  in  the  shape 
of  a kakemono,  is  quite  a good  deal  rubbed  and  defaced,  and  is  kept  in  the  temple  of 
Chuguji  at  Horiuji,  Nara. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


1 39 


colour,  some  in  fine  gold  lines  drawn  upon  a dark  ground.  The  lines, 
though  fine,  have  a certain  thickening  and  pen  quality  which  render 
them  objects  of  great  beauty.  Rich  flower  designs,  largely  of  lotos, 
and  scroll  work  also  in  gold,  surround  the  separate  panels.  The 
central  panel  contains  the  spirit  of  the  central  category,  the  God  of 
the  Shingon  sect — a still  more  esoteric  branch  of  the  Tendai— Dai 
Nichi  Niorai,  or  the  great  Sun  Tathagata.  He  is  not  even  called  a 
Buddha.  He  is  the  central  demiurge,  in  Bodhisattwa  costume,  but 
with  supreme  power  in  the  cosmos  ; in  short,  to  the  spiritual  universe 
what  the  sun  is  to  our  system.  The  art  is  pretty  close  to  imported 
Indian,  already  working  toward  those  forms  which  later  become  the 
Gods  of  Hinduism.  How  strongly  this  kind  of  Tang  art  affected 
Japan  we  shall  soon  see. 

Another  fine  form  of  Tendai  painting  was  the  portraits  of  great 
priests,  from  Nagergina  downward,  the  man  who  had  founded  this 
mystic  ritual.  These  portraits  are  very  characteristic  of  Tang,  being 
very  strong,  with  flesh  tint,  and  lined  in  simple  powerful  brush  strokes, 
generally  of  ink,  that  do  not  thicken  to  Godoshi’s  scale,  but  remain 
everywhere  something  like  thick  firm  wires.  In  this  respect  they  are 
more  like  the  Rakan  of  early  Tang.  Many  such  portraits  were  brought 
to  Japan  by  the  new  founders.  Probably  the  greatest  of  all,  and  one 
of  the  most  powerful  portraits  of  the  world,  is  the  painting  of  Tendai 
Daishi  himself,  preaching,  owned  by  the  great  shipbuilder  of  Kobe, 
Mr.  Kawasaki.  Here  the  lines  are  of  wonderful  fineness,  the  features 
transcendent,  and  the  colour  most  delicate  and  beautiful.  It  is  nearly 
of  life-size,  and  must  be  by  one  of  the  greatest  Buddhist  masters 
of  Tang. 

But  beside  these  works  of  painting  in  the  eighth  century,  sculpture 
still  took  an  important  place,  even  if  subordinate.  In  the  large 
ceramic  Buddha’s  head,  found  by  me  in  the  ash  barrel  at  Daigoji  in 
1884  and  now  owned  by  the  Art  School  in  Tokio,  we  have  one  of  the 
earliest  relics  of  Tendai  sculpture.  Doubtless  it  formed  a portion  of  a 
complete  ceramic  Buddha  which  was  destroyed,  all  but  this  head,  in  the 
great  fire  of  Daigoji  in  the  twelfth  century.  After  1868  the  priests  were 
tired  of  keeping  the  fragment,  whose  tradition  was  lost,  and  so  had  thrown 
it  away.  It  is  not  only  most  important  because  the  rounded  form  of 
the  head  and  the  somewhat  flat  features  show  us  just  the  sculptural 
type  of  head  which  Godoshi  followed  in  his  painting  of  the  Tofukuji 

M ?. 


1 4o  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

Buddha;  but  also  because  it  is  an  authentic  piece  of  hard  glazed 
ceramic  belonging  to  the  eighth — and  probably  the  early  eighth — 
century.  The  clay  is  whitish,  midway  between  pottery  and  true 
porcelain.  The  glaze,  which  is  used  chiefly  on  the  curls  of  the 
hair,  is  whitish  with  a little  green  streaked  through  it.  It  is  handed 
down,  but  on  tradition  only,  that  there  was  real  porcelain  in  Tang  ; 
and  this  piece  seems  tQ  confirm  it.*  There  was  softer  glazed  ware 
in  several  colours,  cream,  white,  olive,  brown,  grey  and  yellow, 
although  in  Shosoin  there  is  no  glazed  ware  but  the  mottled  green 
and  yellow.  The  white,  which  seems  either  an  ancestor  or  a contemporary 
of  the  famous  Corean  white  glazed  ware,  may  well  be  an  invention  of 
the  later  eighth  century. 

But  another  splendid  form  of  Tendai  sculpture  was  in  wood  ; and, 
chiefly  as  coming  down  to  our  day,  the  strong  portrait  statues  of  great 
philosophers  and  priests.  Two  of  the  finest  are  the  figures,  some- 
what larger  than  life,  of  Vasubandhu  and  Asangpo,  which  formerly 
stood  together  on  the  altar  of  Chukondo  at  Kofukuji.  These  are 
sometimes  considered  by  Japanese  critics  to  be  native  and  of  a later  date. 
But  in  their  transcendent  simple  style,  faces  of  utmost  power,  Chinese 
details  in  drapery,  and  realistic  modelling  as  free  as  the  finest  Greco- 
Buddhist,  we  can  find  no  analogy  with  typical  Japanese  sculpture. 
They  are  far  grander,  and  have  the  force  of  the  great  painted  portraits 
of  Tendai  Tang.  In  spite  of  the  peeling  off  of  the  paint  which  once 
covered  them,  and  of  the  broken  hands,  they  seem  rather  to  be  actual 
human  presences  than  statues. 

By  the  ninth  century,  under  Genso’s  successors  Tokuso  and  Kenso, 
belief  in  Buddhism  again  took  strong  hold  upon  the  Imperial  Court  ; 
but  now  there  was  no  such  naive  unconsciousness  of  difference  between 
the  two  halves  of  Japanese  genius.  The  leader  of  the  Puritan  Con- 
fucians,  Kentaishi,  China’s  greatest  prose  writer,  and  one  of  the  best 
of  Tang  poets,  dared,  though  already  under  the  Imperial  ban,  to  write 
strongly  against  what  he  believed  to  be  degrading  superstitions.  In 
the  year  8 1 8 Kenso  had  ordered  precious  relics,  reported  to  be  some 
of  the  very  bones  of  Buddha,  to  be  brought  from  India  to  China, 
and  he  and  his  court  undertook  to  worship  them.  Then  Kentaishi 

spoke  out,  and  declared,  in  a rescript  which  has  ever  since  been  a 

* Mr.  Charles  L.  Freer  of  Detroit,  one  of  the  world's  greatest  experts  and  collectors  of 
ancient  pottery,  asserts  that  at  this  time  there  was  pottery. — The  Ed. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  PAINTING 


I4I 

kind  of  constitution  for  the  Confucian  scholars,  that  Kenso  was 
violating  the  sacredness  of  ancestral  customs  and  would  only  bring 
disaster  on  the  empire.  This  was  the  first  “ rift  within  the  lute,” 
which  was  destined  to  rise  to  an  all-threatening  problem  of  policy 
in  Sung,  and  to  lead  to  a palsying  of  the  Chinese  mind  in  later 
Ming.  Now  began  a kind  of  see-saw  between  the  two  great  Court 
parties,  now  one  triumphing,  now  the  other.  In  845,  for  instance, 
many  Buddhist  temples  were  destroyed  and  the  building  of  new  ones 
forbidden.  Faction  leads  to  internal  revolt,  and  the  end  of  the  century 
finds  the  Tang  power  tottering,  with  the  capital  again  moved  eastward 
to  Loyang. 

The  Tang  paintings  of  the  ninth  century  are  a greater  elaboration 
of  the  style  found  in  the  ancient  Rakans.  The  line  is  not  as  thick 
as  Godoshi’s,  but  thickens  as  if  it  were  a wire  ribbon  seen  at  different 
angles.  The  faces  are  a little  coarse,  the  forms  ungraceful,  but  there 
is  great  wealth  of  colour,  a Chinese  vermilion  being  used  which  seems 
to  be  almost  as  dark  as  crimson.  The  large  Nirvana  painting  at 
Tofukuji,  ascribed  to  Godoshi,  is  of  this  age.  Also  the  large 
painting  of  Buddha  preaching.*  The  Rakan  pictures  of  this  day  are 
carefully  drawn,  and  have  rich  landscape  backgrounds.  The  trees, 
drawn  in  rich  opaque  colours  like  jades,  are  a manifest  advance  upon 
the  early  Tang  and  pre-Tang  Tartar  trees. 

Ink  painting  is  also  in  vogue  at  this  day,  and  the  hieratic  Shingon 
style,  which  now  uses  exquisite  opaque  Tartar  colouring  for  the  original 
fine  gold  lines.  An  example  of  this  is  the  splendid  Bodhisattwa  of 
the  peacock  at  Ninnoji  of  Kioto. 

By  the  tenth  century  the  Kettan — a rising  Tartar  tribe  from  the 
North-west — had  almost  annihilated  the  Northern  provinces.  In  the 
south,  west,  and  south-east,  localities  were  declaring  their  independence 
of  Tang.  According  to  Chinese  reckoning  Tang  is  officially  abolished 
in  905  and  a series  of  petty  dynasties,  each  lasting  a few  years,  brings 
on  an  interregnum  of  great  confusion  between  905  and  960,  which  may 
be  called  the  “ interpolation  of  the  5 dynasties.”  As  in  all  such  dis- 
ordered times,  the  Confucians,  with  their  ready  organization,  came  to 
the  front  ; and  they  now  succeeded  in  955  in  having  a large  number 
of  ancient  bronze  Buddhas  destroyed  and  cast  into  coins.  It  is  this  deep 

* Probably  the  To  painting  in  Chonoji  temple,  in  the  village  of  O’Toku-ni, 
Yamasho. 


i42  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

reaction  in  the  Chinese  mind  which  has  led  to  so  many  destructions 
and  revolutions  in  art,  and  which  has  made  Tang  art  of  the  great 
Buddhist  period  so  rare  in  China  itself. 

But  in  this  very  confusion  a last  independent  phase  of  Tang  art 
flared  up.  The  local  geniuses  of  the  provinces  found  expression  ; 
and  even  great  Buddhist  priests  like  Zengetsu  have  left  us  stupendous 
conceptions.  His  great  work  is  sets  of  the  Rakan,  single  figures  of 
large  size — the  finest  being  the  18  Rakan  of  Kodaiji.  The  drawing 
of  tree  forms  here  is  gnarly  and  powerful  to  the  last  degree.  The 
line  is  the  wire  line  of  the  early  Rakan,  but  used  with  wonderful 
originality  and  twisting  into  strange  splendid  systems.  The  colour  is 
more  wonderful  still,  quite  eschewing  the  bright  reds,  greens,  and 
blues  of  Tartar  tradition,  and  confining  both  flesh  and  draperies  to 
strange  quiet  transparent  tones  of  browns,  olives,  and  unnamable 
purples.  All  grace  is  lacking  : the  figures  are  elemental  like  great 
lumps  of  rock  ; the  heads  are  often  distorted  ; yet  a powerful  realism 
that  can  even  deal  minutely  with  textures  remains. 

It  is  a question  whether  the  strange  set  of  “Jewish”  Rakans  belongs 

to  this  or  the  preceding  century  ; they  are  kept  at  Kataiji,  at  Higashiyama, 

near  Kioto.  Though  Buddhist  and  with  halos  the  Semitic  cast  of 
countenances  is  evidently  intentional.  These  exceptional  pieces  may 
have  arisen  by  a mistaking  in  later  Tang  the  officiators  in  the 
half-ruined  synagogues  in  China  for  Indian,  that  is,  Western,  types. 
The  Arabs  hated  Buddhism  so  heartily  that  they  would  hardly  have 
become  mistaken  for  Rakan. 

Taking  Tang  Buddhist  art  as  a whole,  we  have  seen  how  Greco- 

Buddhism  gave  it  an  inspiration  in  the  seventh  century  ; and  how 
internal  causes  carried  it  to  a kind  of  culmination  under  Godoshi  in  the 
eighth,  from  which  point  it  rapidly  declined  through  the  ninth  and 
tenth  centuries.  The  revival  of  art  which  now  supervenes,  though  even 
beginning  during  the  five  short  dynasties,  properly  belongs  to  the 

history  of  the  all-conquering  Sung  that  came  in  in  960. 


Rakan  Holding  Wand. 

By  the  priest  Zengetsu  Daishi  (Kuan  Chiu). 
At  Kcdaiji. 


Chapter  VIII. 

MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN. 

Fujiwara. 

MYSTICAL  Buddhist  art,  or  the  arts  of  the  mystical  sects  of 
Buddhism  (Tendai  and  Shingon  as  named  in  Japan),  which 
we  have  been  studying  in  its  Chinese  phases  of  Tang  and 
Sung,  was  introduced  into  Japan  from  Tang  in  the  eighth  century. 
In  order  to  understand  what  a change  this  was  for  Japanese  art,  and 
with  what  political  and  social  changes  for  Japan  this  new  art  was  bound, 
we  must  go  back  to  the  end  of  Chapter  VI.,  where  I briefly  described 
the  decay  of  the  Nara  life  and  art  which  followed  after  the  death  of 
Shomu  Tenno  in  748.  Under  the  Empress  Koken  many  abuses  were 
practised,  statesmen  were  exiled,  priests  exalted  to  high  rank,  and  art 
became  coarse  and  traditional.  The  good  days  of  Genso’s  reign  in 
Tang  were  passing  over  China  without  leaving  any  contemporary 
mark  on  the  island  capital.  Quite  a number  of  Japanese  scholars, 
like  Abe  no  Nakamaro,  were  studying  in  Tang,  but  their  pro-Chinese 
recommendations  had  little  weight.  A great  religious  revival,  that 
of  Tendai,  was  passing  over  China,  filling  even  the  ranks  of  the 
court  with  the  inspiration  of  spiritual  knighthood,  but  it  left  Japan  cold. 
To  be  sure,  one  waif  from  the  crest  of  this  new  wave  had  been 
thrown  upon  Japan  as  early  as  699.  The  hermit,  En  no  Gioja, 
was  a Chinese  disciple  of  the  new  cult,  and,  coming  to  Japan,  had 
tried  to  interest  the  people  in  his  mysticism.  But  the  devotees  of 
the  older  abstract  views  had  denounced  him  as  a magician,  and 
banished  him  to  the  mountains  of  Idzu.  There  he  is  said  to  have 
practised  his  mystic  contemplations,  communing  with  nature  and  with 


i44  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

the  elemental  spirits  of  rock  and  stream  ready  to  respond  to  his 

bidding.  In  this  way  he  was  a despised  forerunner  of  mysticism, 
afterwards  honoured  as  a pioneer  and  often  represented  as  a holy 
hermit — as  in  the  fine  bronze  group  of  the  fifteenth  century.  But  in 
spite  of  the  languid  curiosity  of  a few  persons  concerning  his  doctrine, 
the  Nara  Court  was  ready  to  go  with  the  old  worn-out  formulas, 

hardly  virile  enough  in  their  moral  generalizations  or  in  their  aesthetic 
beauty  to  withstand  the  undermining  of  luxury. 

So  things  went  on  in  the  luxurious  capital  of  Nara,  with  a 
decayed  Greco-Buddhist  art,  until  the  year  782,  when  a new  and 
powerful  emperor,  Kwammu,  destined  to  reign  twenty-four  years,  came 
to  the  throne.  In  his  first  thought  he  identified  Buddhism  with  all 
the  abuses  of  his  predecessors,  and  so  he  ordered  that  no  more 

temples  should  be  built  and  that  no  more  of  the  people’s  land 
should  be  diverted  to  temple  support.  Moreover,  he  conceived 

that  the  city  of  Nara,  although  such  an  enormous  mass  of  capital 
was  invested  therein,  was  too  much  associated  with  old  ways  to  be 

longer  retained,  and  so  in  his  third  year  he  sent  a surveyor  to 

the  neighbouring  province  of  Yamashiro  to  look  for  a promising  site. 
Already  his  thought  was  that  the  new  civilization  of  China — the 
wonderful  poetry,  and  painting,  and  laws,  and  court  officers  and 
functions,  the  stately  music,  the  universities,  the  diffusing  of  learning 
throughout  the  Court — that  all  these  ripe  elements  of  culture — 

should  be  carefully  studied,  and  transplanted  bodily  to  a new 

Japan  which  he  himself  would  create.  Confucius  was  already 
publicly  worshipped.  If  the  Confucian  scholars  of  China  had  not 
been  such  unmitigated  Chauvinists  they  might  well  have  transplanted 
their  own  cult  to  the  neighbouring  state.  But  fortunately  for  Japan 
these  Bourbons  considered  China  a divine  essence  apart  from  a 
negligible  world.  It  is  interesting  to  see  that  the  Japanese  nature  was 
so  far  back,  as  now,  ready  to  accept  and  incorporate  every  element  of 
any  foreign  civilization  that  could  be  put  to  the  national  advantage. 

Kwammu,  in  short,  was  to  his  day  what  the  illustrious  Mutsuhito, 
already  in  the  39th  year  of  his  reign,  is  to  the  present.  Thus  we  can 
say  that  he  stands  at  the  commencement  of  a second  great  era  in 
Japanese  civilized  history — the  first  having  been  opened  by  Shotoku 
Taishi  nearly  two  centuries  before — a second  period  both  of  general 
culture  and  of  art.  This  second  period  was  marked  by  a strong  upward 


Portrait  of  a Priest.  By  Kobo  Daishi. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  145 

wave  at  the  close  of  the  eighth  century.  We  have  only  to  note  that 

it  is  contemporary  with  the  culmination  of  the  parallel  Tang  wave. 

Now  it  happened  that  just  as  Kwammu  was  meditating  these 
sweeping  changes,  a great  Japanese  genius — a young  man  who  had  been 
studying  for  years  with  Dosui,  the  hierarch  of  the  mystical  Buddhist 
sect  on  Tendai  mountain — returned  to  his  native  country  fully  prepared 
to  become  the  apostle  of  this  powerful  new  doctrine  in  its  island  world. 
This  is  the  man  known  to  us  as  Dengio  Daishi,  who,  whether  he  could, 
as  alleged,  perform  physical  miracles  or  no,  at  least  had  that  reach  of 
mind  which  enabled  him  to  appreciate,  utilize  and  direct  the  forces 

involved  in  Kwammu’s  projected  reforms.  His  first  step  was  to  convince 
Kwammu  that  it  was  really  the  Tendai  spirit  that  lay  at  the  basis  of 
China’s  greatness,  and  that  it  would  be  a most  powerful  makeweight  as 
a new  court  Buddhism  against  the  effete  Nara  sects.  Thus  what  might 
have  been  a too  thorough  Chauvinizing  of  Japan  was  diverted  by 
Dengio  into  a kind  of  mystical  theocracy  such  as  never  existed  in  China 
or  any  other  Buddhist  kingdom.  In  788  Dengio,  foreknowing  Kwammu’s 
decision  concerning  the  new  site,  built  his  first  cathedral  church, 

Enriakuji,  near  the  top  of  Mount  Hyei,  which  rises  from  the  waves  of 
Lake  Biwa,  thus  trying  to  reproduce  the  isolated  conditions  of  Tendai 
itself.  But  Dengio  and  Kwammu  were  working  in  perfect  accord  ; and 
in  794  the  capital  was  formally  transferred  from  Nara  to  the  new 
Yamashiro  site,  at  the  land  base  of  Mount  Hiyei.  Here  a fine  valley, 
some  five  miles  wide,  had  been  selected,  sloping  gradually  to  the  open 
South  from  foot  hills,  and  flanked  on  East  and  West  with  lofty 
mountain  ranges.  Here  the  ground  was  laid  out  as  much  as  possible 
like  the  Chinese  capital  of  Genso,  with  fine  North  and  South  running 
thoroughfares  crossed  regularly  with  broad  avenues  from  East  to  West. 
From  a large  rectangular  tract  in  the  centre  of  the  North  side  arose  the 
many  buildings  and  garden  hillocks  of  the  Imperial  palace.  In  a few 
years  the  population  had  deserted  Nara,  and  adapted  themselves  to  these 
more  spacious  accommodations.  Canals  faced  with  stone  carried  fresh 
water  from  the  mountains  through  the  city.  Within  twenty-five  years 
a considerable  portion  of  Central  Nara  had  relapsed  to  its  original  rice- 
fields  ; but  Kioto  could  boast  of  more  than  a million  citizens.  It  was 
the  thousandth  anniversary  of  this  great  removal  which  the  Japanese 
celebrated  by  an  international  exposition  at  Kioto  in  1894.  The  new 
buildings  erected  at  that  time,  the  Taikiokuden,  were  intended  to  be  a 


146  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

close  approximation  to  the  style  of  Chinese  architecture  which  Kwammu 
himself  used. 

A few  years  later,  in  806,  a second  great  prelate  came  back  from 
China  to  Japan  with  the  prestige  of  a much  longer  study  on  Tendai 
mountain  than  Dengio.  No  doubt  this  Kuki,  or  Kobo  Daishi,  was  a 
tar  more  powerful  religious  genius  than  Dengio,  as  also  a far  greater 
artist.  He  founded  the  special  and  concentratedly  mystical  sect  of 

Shingon,  as  supplementary  to  Tendai.  This  was  the  first  great  sect 
originated  by  a Japanese.  Kobo  is  said  to  have  performed  most 

startling  miracles  before  the  Kioto  court;  and  he  probably  did  a still 
more  wonderful  service  in  inventing  the  Japanese  syllabary,  a phonetic 
semi-substitute  for  the  difficult  Chinese  writing.  He  was  likewise  a 
great  metaphysical  philosopher,  Professor  Inouye  of  the  Imperial 
University  holding  that  we  shall  eventually  find  his  work  to  be  the 
ripest  piece  of  speculation  in  all  Asia,  building  superstructures  upon 
Vasabandhu  and  Asangpo,  as  these  build  both  on  Buddha  and  on 
the  Vedas.  Had  he  arrived  upon  the  scene  a few  years  earlier  he 
might  have  made  more  effective  and  more  liberal  the  very  reforms 
undertaken  by  Dengio.  As  it  was,  he  removed  his  first  Cathedral 
seat  far  away  from  Kioto  to  Mount  Koya  in  the  Southern  part  of 

Yamato  in  816.  He  travelled  also  all  over  Japan,  even  to  the 

barbarous  North,  founding  monasteries  on  his  way.  He  was  more 
for  the  people,  and  less  for  an  Imperial  theocracy. 

A special  mission  to  study  in  China  was  sent  in  803.  The  Tokaido 
highway  was  opened  eastward  as  far  as  Hikone.  The  whole  East 

of  Japan  had  finally  been  won  from  the  Ainos  in  a big  battle  in  801. 
Special  Chinese  court  ceremonies  were  adoped  in  820.  In  827  Kobo 
had  become  so  powerful  in  the  palace  that  at  his  request  the  Emperor 
ordered  the  bones  of  Buddha  to  be  brought  to  him  at  the  palace. 
Meanwhile  several  histories  of  Japan  and  books  of  law  had  been 
compiled.  Ono-no  Takamura,  the  friend  of  Kobo,  and  who  painted 
his  portrait,  was  sent  as  special  student  to  China  in  836. 

But  perhaps  the  greatest  service  of  Kobo  Daishi  to  Japan  was 
that  he  introduced  Tang  art,  and  especially  Tendai  art,  into  Japan;  and 
with  such  firm  ingrafting  that  it  became  thoroughly  naturalized,  even 
if  slightly  modified.  It  was  Kobo  who  personally  brought  back 
hundreds  of  paintings,  among  them  the  great  portraits  of  the  founders 
of  mysticism,  and  the  largest  specimens  of  the  magic  Mandara,  which 


Laughing  Angel  with  Biwa  (Detail). 
By  Kobo  Daishi. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  147 

are  found  in  somewhat  dilapidated  condition  at  his  favorite  Kioto 
temple,  Toji.  Toji  has  always  been  the  great  Shingon  temple  of  Kioto, 
as  Enriakuji  has  been  the  Tendai,  and  Daitokuji  the  Zen.  Kobo 
made  himself  the  intimate  friend  of  all  the  young  Japanese  who  aspired 
to  Chinese  learning,  among  them  the  famous  Ono  no  Nakamura;  and, 
being  a great  painter  and  sculptor  himself,  he  taught  them  to  create  in 
the  strong  Tang  style.  Indeed  from  his  day  it  has  been  part  of  the 
discipline  and  function  of  every  Shingon  priest  both  to  paint  and  to 
carve  Buddhist  altar  pieces.  The  first  school  of  the  new  civilization 
is  therefore  a school  of  priestly  artists  with  Kobo  at  their  head. 

It  should  be  added  that  in  864  a third  great  Japanese  prelate 
returned  from  Tendai  and  founded  a branch  sect  of  that  name  at 
Miidera  of  Otsu,  near  Lake  Biwa,  which  has  maintained  to  this  day  a 
hierarchical  organization  separate  from  that  of  Hiyei-zan.  This  man, 
Chisho  Daishi,  was  almost  as  great  a man  as  Kobo,  but  more  of  a 
recluse.  Perhaps  the  highest  Mahatmaship  of  Japan  has  been  practised 
in  the  temple  which  he  founded.  My  first  great  teacher  in  Buddhism, 

Keitoku  Ajari  (Ajari  is  Bishop)  became  the  hierarch  of  this  sect  just 

before  his  death,  and  my  fellow-pupil,  Kwanrio  Ajari,  officiates  to-day 
as  Archbishop  of  Miidera.*  Chiso,  like  Kobo,  was  also  a great  painter 
and  also  brought  back  with  him  many  Chinese  Tang  portraits  and 
models.  Other  prelates  followed  during  the  century,  such  as  Jukiku 

Daishi,  but  these  three  (Dengio,  Kobo,  and  Chisho)  may  be  called 

the  founders  of  mystical  Buddhism  and  its  art  in  Japan. 

The  art  of  the  inceptive  stage  of  this  new  period,  roughly  the 
ninth  century,  may  be  said  to  be  a mixture  of  the  new  Tang  style 
with  the  somewhat  over-decorative  traditions  of  the  old  Nara  style 
that  could  not  be  at  once  wholly  discarded.  Moreover,  the  very 
predominance  of  the  Shingon,  or  Mandara,  among  the  general  Tang 
styles  in  Japan  tended  rather  to  encourage  the  effeminate  tendencies 
of  Nara  art  than  would  have  the  style  of  Godoshi  had  it  then  been 
known.  This  tendency  was  partly  counteracted  by  the  strength  of  the 
portrait  style  as  introduced  from  Tang.  In  sculpture  is  found  the 
same  double  tendency — a strength  in  portraiture  and  in  militant  types, 
but  an  effeminacy  in  carved  Buddhas  and  Bodhisattwas  and  other 

*The  Ajari  Kwanrio,  having  already  appointed  his  young  successor,  has  taken  the 
name  “ Keiyen  ” — under  which  he  still  presides  over  the  important  Archbishopric  of 
Miidera. 


1 48  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

Mandara  deities.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  conservation,  it  can  be  said 
that  the  art  of  the  days  of  Kobo  is  more  nearly  like  Chinese  than  the 
more  culminating  art  that  comes  a little  later  in  Kwanpei  and  Engi. 

The  transition  from  Nara  art  to  Kwammu  art  is  probably 
given  us,  in  painting,  with  the  splendidly-preserved  representation  on 
silk,  and  in  brilliant  colours,  of  the  eleven  - headed  Kwannon 
seated,  formerly  at  Horiuji,  and  now  in  the  collection  of  Marquis 
Inouye.  It  is  possible  that  the  grace  of  this  fine  piece  is  an 
example  of  Shomu  work  in  Tempei,  rather  than  of  Kwammu.  But 
in  sculpture  undoubted  transitions  are  the  big,  heavy,  standing 
Buddha  of  Miroku  in  Todaiji,  so  fat  and  clumsy  that  it  looks  about  to 
burst,  and  the  large  seated  fat  gilt  trinity  upon  the  altar  of  Bisjamondo 
at  Seirioji. 

Perhaps  by  Kobo  Daishi  himself,  and  with  the  transition  to  the 
new  Tang  type  much  more  complete,  is  the  great  painted  triptych 
of  the  coming  of  Buddha  in  glory  through  clouds  filled  with  Bodhi- 
sattwa.  This  uses  full  colour,  rather  than  gilding,  and  there  are 
traces  of  the  Greco  - Buddhist  manner,  but  nothing  of  the  hard, 
wiry,  Corean  lines  of  Tempei  painting.  The  effect  is  broad  and 

the  notan  fine.  The  side  panels  with  Bodhisattwa  playing  on  instru- 
ments are  beautiful  and  naive.  In  some  faces  the  effect  of  laughing 
is  given. 

Other  paintings  by  Kobo  Daishi  are  the  portrait  of  Ono  no 
Takamura  in  Koninji,  at  Yamato,  and  the  large,  standing  figure  of 
Jizo  in  the  Fenollosa  collection  at  Boston.  Quite  like  him,  and  very 
Tang  in  style,  are  the  portrait  of  Kobo  and  the  front-faced  standing 
Jizo  by  Ono  no  Takamura.  Several  paintings  remain  ascribed  to 
Chisho  Daishi,  the  strong  yellow  Fudo  of  Nara  shrine  and  the 
strange  Fudo  with  many  doji  (boys)  at  Miooin,  in  Koyasan,  which 
is  very  much  like  Tang. 

Many  sculptures  are  attributed  to  Kobo,  one  of  the  most  probable 
being  the  great  Fudo  of  Toji.  This  is  the  first  time  that  this  subject, 
a distinctly  mystic  motive,  has  been  mentioned  in  our  history.  Fudo 
is  a type  of  the  apparently  violent  beings  in  the  spiritual  world  who 
take  rank  with  Bodhisattwa.  His  flesh  is  blue,  he  has  torches  in 
his  mouth,  his  face  writhes,  he  holds  a sword  in  his  right  hand,  a 
cord  in  his  left.  This  seems  related  to  the  more  terrible  Shivaistic 
deities  of  modern  Hinduism.  To  the  thoughtless  foreign  commentator 


Early  Chinese  Buddhist  Painting. 
Collection  of  Mr.  Charles  L.  Freer. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  149 

they  are  one  and  all  abominable  relics  of  “devil”  worship.  But 
Fudo  may  properly  be  called  the  Bodhisattwa  of  the  will,  of 
self-restraint,  the  power  to  cut  out  temptation,  to  bind  the  unruly 
passions.  Fudo  means  “The  Unmoved,”  and  he  is  usually  represented 
as  surrounded  with  a halo  of  fire,  which  he  does  not  feel.  In  the  Toji 
statue,  the  square  logs  of  his  throne  are  really  a pyre  of  wood  for 
flames.  Jizo,  too,  is  a new  Bodhisattwa  type,  this  time  gracious  and 
peaceful,  the  guardian  of  little  children  and  of  travellers,  the  descender 
into  Hell,  where  he  intercedes  for  the  souls  of  infants.  Japan  is  full 
of  wayside  shrines  to  Jizo,  whose  stone  images  are  almost  covered  by 
votive  offerings  of  pebbles  by  travellers.  One  of  the  most  striking 
of  these  early  Jizos  is  cut,  life-size  and  in  high  relief,  out  of  a 
mountain  ledge  on  the  little  path  across  the  Hakone  mountains  from 
Ashinoyu  to  Hakone.  This  is  said  to  have  been  carved  by  Kobo  him- 
self on  his  journey  to  the  North  ; yet,  though  the  conception  is 
primitive  Tang  and  mostly  of  Kobo,  he  would  hardly  have  spared 
time  for  its  execution.  It  is  more  likely  that  it  was  afterwards  prepared 
from  his  drawings. 

But  probably  the  most  powerful  sculpture  of  this  day  is  found  in 
the  militant  spirits,  Bisjamon’s  Shi  Ten  O and  Yakushi’s  generals,  often 
very  large  carvings  in  wood,  and  with  fine  spirit  and  motion.  These 
are  much  fuller  of  drapery  than  the  corresponding  Chinese  work  of  the 
seventh  century.  There  is  little  of  the  effeminacy  and  merely  decorative 
quality  of  Tempei  sculpture.  It  is  all  robust  and  large  and  realistic, 
deeply  carved,  with  the  bigness  of  Tang  feeling  in  it.  It  is  hard  to  say 
whether  some  of  the  finest  examples  may  not  be  originals  from  Tang. 
Typical  specimens  are  found  in  Nanyendo  of  Kofukuji,  in  Toji,  in 
Koyasan. 


The  study  of  ornament  too  in  smaller  articles  is  of  great  interest ; 
boxes  and  vases  of  lacquer  and  metal,  and  stuffs.  Of  this  there  is 
much  in  Koyasan  and  at  Saidaiji. 

The  ripe  harvest  of  all  this  Chinese  sowing  comes  on  slowly, 
after  three  generations,  with  the  advent  of  the  Emperor  Daigo  in  898. 
His  glorious  reign  lasted  down  to  930,  of  which  22  years  are 
reckoned  under  the  famous  era,  Engi  (901-922).  This  period  named 
“Engi  ” must  doubtless  be  reckoned  the  high-water  mark  of  Japanese 


1 5o  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

civilization,  as  Genso’s  “ Kaigen  ” had  been  that  of  China.  Never 
again  would  either  China  or  Japan  be  quite  so  rich,  splendid,  and  full 
of  free  genius.  In  Japan,  however,  it  might  not  be  quite  correct  to 
speak  of  this  as  a supreme  culmination  in  art , since  it  is  only  the 
second  apex  of  five  nearly  equal  mountain  heights.  But  in  general 
culture  and  in  luxurious  refinement  of  a life  which  equally  ministered 
to  mind  and  to  body,  not  only  not  in  Japan,  but  perhaps  not  in  the 
world,  was  there  ever  again  anything  quite  so  exquisite.  Shomu’s  day 
at  Nara  had  been  great,  but  it  was  a childish  though  over-grown 
patriarchship.  Genso  at  Loyang  and  Pericles  at  Athens  had  seen 
stronger,  more  daring  creation.  The  later  Florence  of  the  Medici 
was  to  surpass  it  in  sheer  intellectual  force  and  the  Hangchow  of 

Sung  in  naturalness  and  vitality  of  art.  But  in  a delicate  aristocratic 
culture  on  a scale  comprising  a vast  city,  and  whose  finest  essences 
are  original  poetry  and  music,  nothing  before  or  since  probably  has 
possessed  a more  perfect  flavour.  It  was  like  the  production  of  a 
wonderful,  unique,  and  unheard-of  flower  whose  shape  and  colour 
transcend  the  limits  of  all  known  species. 

I have  already  intimated  that  this  great  world  of  palace  culture 
was  in  some  real  sense  a theocracy  ; and  this  is  another  feature  which 
differentiates  it  from  all  the  world’s  great  illuminations.  Athens  and 

Florence  were  frankly  pagan.  Loyang  and  Hangchow  were  half- 

pagan.  But  the  Kioto  of  Engi  practically  worshipped  in  one  vast 
temple,  without  decay  of  heart  or  intellect.  Here,  indeed,  the  mystical 
Buddhism  of  Tendai  and  Shingon  came  to  its  social  throne  ; nowhere 
in  China  did  it  take  such  absolute  root  and  bear  such  luscious  harvest. 
It  may  be  said  that  Dengio  on  his  Mount  Hiyei,  if  not  Kwammu  by  his 
Kamo  river,  had  foreseen  much  of  this.  The  compact  between  these 
two  founders,  the  spiritual  and  the  temporal,  was  one  that  the  successors 
of  the  former  would  enforce.  The  Tendai  prelate  was  to  be  the 
Emperor’s  adviser  and  father  confessor,  the  vicegerent  on  earth  of 
those  very  spiritual  forms  that  should  guarantee  the  Imperial  throne. 
Before  Gods  and  the  archbishop  should  the  Mikado  kneel ; while  armed 
monks  from  the  populous  monasteries  should  if  necessary  defend  the 
temporal  sovereignty.  It  was  a sort  of  compact  between  Church  and 
State,  not  at  all  unlike  that  which  Charlemagne  was  to  make  with 
Pope  Leo  the  Third,  and  curiously  enough  only  six  years  later. 

Kwammu  founded  Kioto  in  794,  and  the  great  Charles  of  Germany 


Wooden  Image  of  Fud6.  By  Kobo  Daish: 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  151 

signed  the  convention  of  Rome  in  800.  It  may  be  no  great 
strain  of  analogy  to  designate  this  duplex  authority  which  thereafter 
underlay  Japanese  civilization  as  “The  Holy  Kioto  Empire.”  It  is 
true  that  Tendai  Buddhism  was  in  time  partially  superseded  ; and  it  is 
true  that  for  700  years  feudal  Shoguns,  who  had  often  scant  respect 
for  priests,  sheared  the  Mikado  of  all  real  power.  Nevertheless,  in 
some  weak  but  real  sense  the  “ Holy  Kioto  Empire  ” lived  down  to 
1868,  when  many  princes  of  the  Imperial  blood,  like  Prince  Kitashirakawa 
at  Ninnoji,  were  officiating  with  shaved  heads  as  imperial  incumbents 
of  great  Tendai  and  Shingon  abbeys  at  the  old  capital.  It  was  through 
the  early  Kioto  centuries,  however,  that  the  strength  of  this  double 
power  ran  through  society  like  the  fire  of  a holy  wine  ; and  it  was  in 
Engi  especially  that  it  reached  its  highest  power.  There  in  the  heart 
of  Kioto  to-day,  under  the  roof  of  an  ancient  temple  gate  of  Daigo’s 
palace,  can  still  be  seen  the  far-away  peaks  of  Hiyei-zan  dominating  the 
devoted  city  and  testifying  eloquently  to  the  pride  with  which  the 
Tendai  pope  must  have  looked  down  upon  his  Imperial  puppet. 

For  there  were  several  things  that  the  far-sighted  Kwammu  forgot 
in  laying  his  wise  plans  for  empire.  He  had  chafed  against  Koken’s 
Nara  hierarch,  Dokio  ; he  had  resented  the  cupidity  of  the  Nara 
nobles,  who  had  gradually  and  surreptitiously  neutralized  Tenchi’s 
fine  laws  of  land  distribution  to  the  people.  He  had  intended  to  rule 
as  the  new  father  of  a great  people  relieved  from  their  abuses  ; and 
doubtless  Dengio  was  equally  sincere  in  good  intentions.  But  neither 
of  them  could  foresee  how  the  new  Chinese  ranking  of  Imperial 
ministers  as  a court  entourage , strengthened  with  a caste  allegiance 
to  the  theocratic  power  on  the  hill,  would  soon  lead  to  the  throttling 
of  imperialism  with  oligarchy.  Four  estates  you  may  say  there  were — 
the  Emperor,  the  people,  the  nobles,  and  the  clergy.  The  Emperor 
and  the  people  should  have  been  strong  enough  then  to  build  the 
Japanese  nation , which  was  delayed  till  1868  ; for  the  village  organi- 
zation of  the  farmers  and  the  artisans,  for  which  indeed  the  Taihori 
laws  had  been  chiefly  drafted,  was  not  yet  far  in  abeyance.  But 
a working  combination  of  a vast  civic  aristocracy  drawing  its  wealth 
from  country  estates  with  the  ramifications  of  a perfect  administration 
would  be  well-nigh  too  powerful. 

This  aristocracy  was  vested  largely  in  one  vast  family,  the  Fujiwara, 
which  had  trained  its  hundreds  of  collateral  houses  upon  a single  grand 


152  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

scale  of  policy  and  education.  A well  managed  family  in  Japan  is 
always  an  imperium  in  imperio  ; and  the  early  history  of  Japan  is  largely 
a record  of  civic,  or  even  civil,  struggle  between  rival  houses.  Thus 
the  Soga  family,  the  first  great  patrons  of  Buddhism,  had  been 
supported  by  Prince  Shotoku  in  their  fight  with  Moriya.  It  was  only 
a little  later  that  the  great  minister  Kamatori,  the  reputed  founder  of 
the  Fujiwara,  fell  into  deadly  feud  with  the  jealous  Soga.  It  was 
against  this  very  growth  of  the  aristocracy  that  Tenchi’s  and  Morimune’s 
laws  had  been  directed.  Nevertheless  in  Nara  times  the  old  land- 
grabbing had  crept  back  and  the  Fujiwara  clan  was  rising  to  con- 
siderable wealth  and  influence.  And  when  Kwammu  in  his  new 
Kioto  assembled  his  courtiers  about  him  into  a consolidated  cabinet 
with  subordinate  bureaus  and  a large  officialdom,  the  scions  of  the 
populous  Fujiwara  were  there  in  large  numbers,  ready  to  fill  the 
posts.  Especially  had  this  house  been  eager  to  follow  all  the  new 
currents  of  learning  that  had  filtered  in  from  China  and  Corea.  They 
were  trained  scholars  as  well  as  statesmen  ; and  now  they  threw  them- 
selves with  solid  enthusiasm  into  the  union  of  learning  with  the  personal 
ecstasy  of  the  new  mysticism.  It  was  they  who  became  the  principal 
pupils  of  the  Tendai  hierophants  ; they  the  artists,  the  poets,  the 
musicians,  the  dancers — nay,  the  Confucians  also — who  should  realize 
in  their  own  lives  a mingling  of  the  best  in  both  China  and  Japan. 
They  were  “aristocrats”  in  a literal  sense.  It  was  a government 
by  the  best.  This  is  why  we  call  this  second  great  period  of 
Japanese  civilization,  centred  at  Kioto  and  lasting  down  to  the  twelfth 
century,  the  Fujiwara  epoch. 

But  it  was  not  till  just  before  the  culminating  period  of  Engi 
that  the  inner  significance  of  this  aristocratic  predominance  began  to 
be  felt.  The  nobles  had  begun  with  supporting  Kwammu  in  his 
alliance  with  the  priesthood.  It  now  became  clear  that  the  Fujiwara, 
in  this  alliance,  were  about  to  overweigh  the  Emperor.  In  88 1, 
the  head  of  the  Fujiwara  house,  a man  of  vast  ability  and  ambition, 
Mototsune,  became  prime  minister,  with  a strong  backing  of  his 
house  in  subordinate  offices.  By  884  his  cabinet  became  so  powerful 
that  it  dethroned  the  reigning  Emperor  and  put  up  his  son.  In  892, 
Mototsune’s  daughter  was  married  to  the  Emperor  Uda.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  a series  of  such  marriages,  through  which  the  heads 
of  the  Fujiwara  clan  became  grandfathers  of  a whole  line  of  Emperors. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  153 

The  dangers  of  this  one-sided  supremacy  were  of  course  apparent  to 
the  other  nobles  ; and  one  of  these,  Sugawara  no  Michizane,  through 
his  talents  and  learning,  which  really  surpassed  the  Fujiwaras’,  rose  into 
rival  rank.  He  was  the  great  Chinese  scholar  of  his  day — a great  prose 
writer,  a great  historian,  a great  poet  in  the  Chinese  style  of  Tang — 
following  Rihaku  and  Omakitsu — a great  painter,  a man  of  staunch 
integrity,  an  incorruptible  statesman.  Such  a man  really  stood  in  the 
way  of  Fujiwara  ambition  ; and  through  a romantic  series  of  Court 
intrigues  he  was  eventually  removed  by  banishment.  His  story  has 
since  entered  into  many  a novel  and  play,  and  forms  the  theme  of  the 
great  panoramic  paintings  by  Nobuzane  spoken  of  in  the  next  chapter. 
His  soul  has  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Shinto  deity,  and  he  is 
worshipped  to-day,  under  the  name  of  Tenjin,  as  a sort  of  Japanese  god 
of  letters. 

The  Fujiwara,  from  this  time  onward,  really  reigned  supreme  for  two 
centuries.  And  one  of  their  methods  of  controlling  the  Emperors  was 
in  that  alliance  of  the  church  which  urged  them  as  they  grew  to  manhood 
to  take  holy  orders,  shave  their  heads,  retire  to  a monastery  and  leave 
the  young  prince  to  the  guidance  of  his  ministers.  If  a great  man  he 
might  still  exert  much  authority,  but  only  through  channels  which  were 
controlled  by  the  church.  This  was  not  quite  a new  procedure  ; but 
as  an  almost  compulsory  measure  under  Fujiwara  custom  it  became  a 
new  instrument.  Uda  became  the  first  type  of  these  retired  Emperors 
in  889,  and  was  given  the  complimentary  ecclesiastical  title  of  Ho-o 
(that  is  pope).  The  real  power  was  of  course  held  by  the  Hiyei-zan 
prelate.  The  young  Daigo,  grandson  of  Fujiwara  Mototsune,  was  now 
the  civil  Emperor,  and  his  long  reign  is  both  a sign  of  and  establishes  the 
Fujiwara  domination  in  its  perfect  form.  Daigo  is  the  great  Emperor 
of  Engi,  and  under  him  the  splendour  of  literature  and  art  rise  to  their 
zenith. 

In  is  worth  while  here  to  say  just  a word  more  about  this  Fujiwara 
culture.  On  the  physical  side  it  reached  its  splendour  with  enormous 
palaces — enormous  in  extent  rather  than  height — and  fine  gardens  in  a 
style  not  more  than  half  Chinese.  Silks  of  the  richest  texture  and  colour 
were  worn  in  many  layers  whose  edges  were  tinted  into  gradations.  Gold 
and  colours  and  ivory  and  bronze  and  pearl  were  used  to  finish  the 
interiors.  Music  became  a passion — a mixture  or  alternation  of 
Chinese  music  and  Japanese  music — demanding  a department  of  music 

VOL.  I.  N 


154  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

with  a minister  of  state  at  its  head,  who  also  supervised  the  Court 
dances,  which  were  reckoned  a part  of  music.  These  dances  were 
pantomimic,  dramatic,  and  composed  on  historical  or  romantic 

themes.  Nobles  themselves,  and  refined  Court  ladies,  at  first  took  part 
in  the  dancing.  Later  a chanted  text  was  added,  sung  by  aristocratic 
choruses.  Other  kindred  dances  were  the  Buddhist  miracle  pantomimes 
already  noticed,  and  the  Shinto  Matsuri  dances,  which  the  nobles  also 
affected  ; for  one  of  Kobo  Daishi’s  great  works  had  been  an  effected 
union  between  Shinto  and  Buddhism,  through  which  they  exchanged 
deities.  It  was  largely  through  the  retention  of  Shinto — pure  Japanese 
ideality,  nature  and  family  worship — that  Japan,  even  in  her  Chinese 
copying,  remained  so  largely  herself. 

In  literature,  for  example,  though  Chinese  poetry  was  known 
and  practised,  as  by  Michizane,  the  pure  well  of  native  speech — in 
its  polysyllabic  sound  wealth,  its  loose  verbal  construction,  and  its 
host  of  little  particles,  so  utterly  removed  from  the  solid,  trip-hammer 
metre  of  Chinese — bubbled  up  too  copiously  for  serious  soiling.  In 
905  the  poet  Tsurayuki  presented  to  the  Engi  Emperor  the  second 
great  national  anthology,  the  Kokinshu,  in  which  so  many  of  the 
thousands  of  supreme  masterpieces  are  by  Court  ladies  and  priests. 
Ono  no  Komachi  becomes  Japan’s  romantic  Sappho.  Narihira  plays 
the  part  of  Theocritus,  or  at  least  a Byron.  The  archbishop  Henjo 
blends  Buddhist  ecstasy  with  pure  Japanese  nature  feeling.  From 
these  days  the  Fujiwara  lords  and  ladies  were  all  trained  as  poets, 
and  among  the  intellectual  pastimes  of  Court  ceremonies,  parties  and 
picnics  were  minnesinger  contests  and  the  capping  of  verses. 

Prose,  too,  took  on  splendid  romantic  forms,  especially  in  the  great 
novels  of  life,  the  Monogataris,  largely  written  by  the  Court  ladies. 
Certainly  the  Geni  Monogotari,  by  the  lady  Murasaki,  is  almost  the 
most  perfect  picture  of  refined  contemporary  life  that  the  literature 
of  any  race  has  left  us.  Without  any  deep-laid  plot  it  contrives 
to  describe  every  phase  of  public  and  private  life,  showing  especially 
how  men  and  women  are  almost  equally  educated  and  stand  on 
terms  of  perfect  social  equality.  It  may  seem  strange  to  some  that 
any  race  of  Oriental  women  can  ever  have  been  as  free  as  are 
ours  to-day.  Chinese  subordination  of  women  played  no  part  in  an 
aristocracy  which  was  training  its  daughters  to  an  intellectual  emulation 
that  should  prove  their  fitness  to  be  Empresses.  The  subjugation  ot 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  155 

women  through  feudal  violence  did  not  supervene  till  the  twelfth 
century.  The  very  individual  training  of  the  new  Buddhism  allowed 
women  to  essay  the  spiritual  emancipation.  Orders  of  Shingon  nuns 
had  been  founded  even  by  Kobo  Daishi.  In  990  the  Empress 
herself  becomes  a nun  and  starts  an  order  of  retired  female  popes, 
parallel  with  the  shaved  emperors.  It  seemed  a natural  process  in 
this  naively  refined  society  that  men  and  women  who  had  plunged 
in  youth  into  social  and  domestic  joys  and  responsibilities  should 
leave  the  emoluments  to  their  children  and  devote  their  waning 
strength  to  the  more  inward  ecstasies  of  divine  vision.  Thus, 
throughout  all  their  strange  lives  Fujiwara  men  and  women  worked 
on  equal  terms  and  indulged  most  romantic  intercourse.  All  these 
thousand  involutions  are  revealed  to  us  in  the  pages  of  the 

Monogotaris,  through  which  we  can  know  the  Engi  age  as  minutely 
as  we  can  know  the  material  side  of  Tempei  through  the  Shosoin 
Museum. 

But,  after  all,  the  core  of  this  wonderful  life  is  chiefly  explained 
by  its  religious  enthusiasm.  Recent  Christian  visitors  to  Japan  have 
observed  of  this  remarkable  race  that,  in  spite  of  modern  Confucian 
agnosticism,  they  seem  to  be  a people  “ on  fire  with  religion.”  This 
passionate  idealism  nobly  displayed  itself  in  the  sacrifices  of  the 
recent  Russian  war.  It  was  the  same  divine  flame,  but  reddened  a 
thousand  years  ago  with  a stronger  Buddhist  tinge,  that  made  Fuji- 
wara lords  and  ladies  feel  even  the  most  gorgeous  human  life  to 
be  only  a threshold  for  an  actual  spiritual  life.  This  intermingling 
of  social  and  spiritual  interests  sounds  a key-note.  To  make  and 
administer  sound  laws,  to  effect  hospital,  charitable,  and  university 
organization,  to  play  a bird-like  part  in  the  variegated  paradises  of 
court  and  villa,  to  beautify  the  person,  and  flash  poetry  as  foun- 
tains do  water — was  only  to  play  naturally  what  the  gods  wished 
done  upon  the  hardened  circumference  of  heaven,  for,  after  all,  the 
earth  is  only  an  outlying  province,  and  the  very  best  of  the  flesh- 
bound  soul  is  in  touch  with  the  central  molten  life  of  Paradise. 
Thus  men  do  their  most  menial  functions  in  the  very  eyes  of 
gods,  and  there  becomes  practically  no  difference  between  a 
palace  and  a temple.  The  two  architectures  are  the  same.  The 
lovely  little  shrine  of  Biodoin  at  Uji,  which,  dating  from  the  next 
century,  is  almost  the  sole  architectural  Fujiwara  remainder,  exhibits 

N 2 


156  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

in  its  corridors  and  pavilion  wings  the  type  of  a private  villa.  Its 
interior  finish  of  black  lacquer  inlaid  with  plates  of  gold,  silver, 
ivory  and  pearl  realises  on  earth  the  flashing  splendour  of  heavenly 
mansions.  You  come  out  of  the  palace  robed  in  trailing  purple 
mixed  with  trailing  hair,  and  you  enter  the  palace  with  the  shining 
pate  and  the  girded  Keisa  of  a nun.  This  double  life  permeates 
the  habits  and  thought  of  all  classes  down  to  the  very  people.  The 
temple  worship  of  our  day,  the  processions,  the  banners,  the  incense, 
the  breathless  exaltation  of  the  shrine,  all  these  are  only  ghostly 
echoes  of  the  religious  passion  of  Fujiwara. 

To  realize  the  ecstasies  of  the  inner  vision  that  alternated  with 
the  outer,  we  must  realize  the  individuality  of  this  worship.  It  was 
no  mere  force  of  sacrament,  no  sentimental  evangel  of  brotherhood. 
The  young  soul  had  to  win  the  spurs  of  its  knighthood  alone,  in 
struggle,  in  effort  to  feel  and  see,  in  invocation  to  the  gods  to  tear 
his  heart  open — alone  before  the  altar  in  his  cell,  or  his  own  chamber 
shrine.  To  pray  to  the  spirit  beside  your  bed  was  as  much  a part 
of  life  as  to  sleep.  But  you  entered  the  holy  presence  naked,  with 
bared  motive,  with  discounted  pretensions.  Some  one  of  the  great 
Bodhisattwa  was  selected  by  your  preceptor  as  your  most  fitting 
guardian  presence,  and  to  him,  or  her,  you  made  your  first  trembling 
prayers,  sniffing  the  rich  smoke  of  incense,  learning  to  tinkle  in  time 
your  gilded  bell,  and  twisting  your  fingers  into  the  magnetic  language 
of  the  in.  You  gaze  into  the  white,  round  mirror  on  which  is 
painted  in  Sanskrit  the  golden  breathing  “ ah-h ! ” and  you  watch 
while  its  surface  deliquesces,  expands  to  an  infinite  crystal  sphere,  in 
which  floats  the  living  soul  ot  the  deity  you  have  invoked — Kwannon, 
perhaps,  who  now  is  so  white  that  she  burns  out  the  dross  in  you  ; 
or  Jizo,  who  melts  you  into  the  torrent  of  his  own  pity  ; or 
Amida,  who  lets  you  sit  as  calm  in  his  sun  as  if  you  were  an 
atom  of  helium  ; or  Aizu,  who  kindles  your  passion  till  it  bursts 
and  reveals  itself  as  no-passion  ; or  Fudo,  who  ties  you  to  the  stake, 
and  lights  the  pyre,  and  cuts  out  your  heart,  and  you  sip  in  the 
glorious  pain  as  if  it  were  a holy  draft.  These  and  many  more  you 
will  see  to-day,  as  you  travel  through  Japan,  standing  as  statues,  or 
niched  as  painted  altar-pieces,  in  the  side  chapels  of  monasteries,  under 
some  wayside  shed,  or  still  in  the  chambers  of  the  old-fashioned. 
Such  a motley  collection  of  deities  that  have  glared  to  the  prayers  of 


Waterfall, 

Kanawoka. 


*57 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN 

a hundred  generations  is  that  which  I once  saw  in  1884  in  a chapel 
at  Udzumasa,  since  destroyed.  Here  you  might  see  the  whole 
Pantheon,  seated  or  standing,  gilt  or  in  colour,  and  before  them  the 
small,  square  lacquered  altar,  with  silver  mirror  and  gilded  apex, 
and  four  candlesticks  which  burn  lights  of  four  colours,  and  the  small 
square  mat,  where  you  might  sit  and  make  of  yourself  a purged 
circle  immune  of  the  devil. 

I say  and  illustrate  all  this,  not  only  because  we  cannot  otherwise 
quite  realize  the  Fujiwara  life,  in  which  all  men  were  great  priests,  but 

also  because,  in  this  mutual  heightening  of  the  inner  and  outer  vision 

is  found  just  the  very  key  to  the  soul  of  Fujiwara  art.  The  art  of 
the  priests  in  the  temples  went  on  much  as  in  the  inceptive  days  of 
Kobo  Daishi  ; but  now  in  Engi  arose  for  the  first  time,  among  the 

same  educated  nobles  who  danced  to  flutes  and  sang  lyrics  to  flowers, 

a class  of  lay  masters  who  gave  their  whole  professional  career  to 
painting,  and  that  chiefly  to  Buddhist  painting.  The  founder  of  this 
new  Court  order,  and  the  founder  of  the  first  professional  family  of 
artists,  was  Kose  no  Kanawoka,  a courtier  who  was  specialized  for 
painting  by  Daigo,  as  Godoshi  had  been  in  China  by  Genso.  It  has 
been  customary  for  writers  upon  Japanese  artists,  whether  native  or 
alien,  to  commence  their  account  with  Kanawoka  as  the  “ father  ” of 
the  art.  But  as  we  see  him  he  is  only  the  central  spirit  of  the 
second  stage  of  the  second  great  period  of  the  art.  Unfortunately 
myth  has  been  busy  with  his  name,  and  it  is  difficult  to  penetrate 
back  to  his  personality.  No  doubt  he  was  the  friend  of  Daigo, 
Michizane,  Narihira,  and  the  Lady  Ono  no  Komachi.  No  doubt  he 
shared  in  all  the  refinements  and  passionate  enthusiasms  of  his  day.  It 
is  difficult  also  to  identify  his  work,  which  has  come  down  through  later 
troubled  ages  as  hardly  more  than  a tradition,  quite  as  the  Tang 
Godoshi  has  come.  And  in  the  same  way  we  must  try  to  identify  his 
work  by  approximation.  We  can  see  the  kind  of  excellence  that  the 
whole  Kose  school  arrived  at.  A large  number  of  very  fine  paintings 
have  been  preserved  in  temples  from  the  Fujiwara  age,  and  are  mostly 
ascribed  to  Godoshi  by  their  custodians.  If  we  follow  the  clue  of 
regarding  the  very  best  of  these  as  our  best  available  standard,  we  shall 
come  the  nearest  to  the  truth.  For  it  will  not  avail  here,  any  more 
than  with  the  relics  of  Tang  art,  to  throw  away  all  tradition.  As  we 
shall  see  in  a later  chapter,  the  tradition  of  reproducing  and  judging 


1 58  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

the  mystical  Buddhist  painting  finally  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  late 
Tosa  school,  and  from  this  to  its  branch,  the  Sumiyoshi  ; just  as  the 
professional  criticisms  of  Chinese  work  fell  into  the  hands  of  Sesshu, 
and  to  the  early  middle  and  late  Kano.  The  last  Sumiyoshi,  Hirokata, 
who  died  in  1885,  was  for  years  my  teacher  in  Tosa  and  Buddhist 

painting,  as  Yeitoku  had  been  in  the  Chinese  and  the  Kano.  It  was 

from  Hirokata  that  I derive  the  traditional  views  of  a thousand  years. 

What  sources  had  Kanawoka  from  which  to  derive  the  elements 
of  his  style  ? On  the  one  hand  he  possessed  the  two  priestly  styles  of 
Tang,  coming  down  through  Kobo  and  Chisho  Daishi’s  : that  is  the 
delicate  Mandara  style,  and  the  large  wired  portrait  style.  He  had  the 
inspiration  which  came  from  the  large  architecture  and  the  brilliant 

decoration  of  his  day.  He  was  a spacer.  We  have  it  on  record  that 
he  was  chief  among  the  landscape  gardeners  of  Engi.  Moreover,  the 
break-up  ot  Tang  itself  was  bringing  in  refugees  from  the  Eastern 
Chinese  provinces,  who  doubtless  imported  some  traces  of  the  contem- 
porary styles  of  later  Tang.  In  935,  during  the  five  short  dynasties, 
men  from  the  coast  cities  of  Go  and  Etsu  arrived  with  what  is  called 
in  the  record  “ tribute.”  This  may  be  only  a phrase  flourish,  or  it 
may  mean  that  in  the  distracted  partitioning  of  the  Tang  empire, 

those  ancient  seats  which  centuries  before,  in  the  troublous  decay  of 
Han,  had  furnished  immigrants  in  a quite  parallel  way,  were  even 
anxious  to  transfer  their  allegiance  from  petty  tyrants  to  the  great 
island  Emperor.  Again  in  957  commissioners  from  Go  arrive  in  Kioto. 
This  is  only  three  years  before  the  happy  reuniting  of  the  empire  under 
Sung  ; and  it  may  well  be  that  some  of  the  earliest  Sung  artists  had 
their  work  represented  in  importations  of  that  time.  But  by  this  time 
Kanawoka  had  probably  left  his  artistic  inheritance  to  his  sons,  Kanatada 
and  Ahimi. 

The  more  important  question  is  how  far  had  the  great  work  of 
early  Tang — yes,  even  the  very  central  work  of  Godoshi  himself — 
became  familiar  to  the  Japanese  of  Daigo’s  day.  It  had  apparently  not 
been  closely  influential  upon  Kobo  Daishi.  But  constant  intercourse 
between  Kioto  and  central  Tang  must  have  brought  in  the  thick  strong 
pen  style  of  Godoshi  along  with  the  poetry  of  Rihaku  and  the  prose 
of  Kantaishi.  The  very  comprehensive  scholarship  implied  by  such  a 
career  as  Michizane’s  can  hardly  have  been  unfamiliar  with  such 
an  important  ornament  of  Genso’s  Court.  Rather  are  we  inclined  to 


Painting  in  the  Godoshi  Style  of  Kanawoka  of  one 
of  the  Shi  Ten  O,  formerly  at  Todaiji,  Nara,  now  in 
the  Fenollosa-Weld  Collection,  Boston. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  159 

believe  that  Kanawoka  deliberately  undertook  to  play  something  of  the 
Godoshi  part  to  his  master  of  Engi  ; and  to  him  we  are  disposed  to 
ascribe  the  full  naturalization  of  a strong  Godoshi  penmanship,  and 
of  a strong  Godoshi-like  realization  of  his  subject.  Two  theories  about 
Kanawoka’s  style  have  apparently  conflicted  in  recent  years  : one  that 
it  was  most  minute — in  short  the  very  hair-thick  gold-lined  style  which 
we  know  to  have  been  prominent  a century  later  with  Yeishin  Sozu  ; 
the  other  that  of  the  Sumiyoshi’s,  that  the  characteristic  Kanawokas 
have  a fine  thickening  Tang  line,  a little  more  wiry  than  Godoshi’s 
but  much  more  masculine  than  Tang  ninth-century  work.  With  the 
latter  theory  I agree,  merely  adding  that  it  is  not  unlikely  that  Kanawoka 
may  at  times  have  personally  effected  a sort  of  synthesis  between  these 
two  systems.  Painting  altar  pieces  as  he  did  for  Shingon  temples,  he 
probably  thinned  his  line  without  making  it  effeminate ; but  indulging 
in  warriors,  battles,  and  scenes  from  Hell,  he  probably  employed  the 
most  that  he  knew  of  Godoshi’s  powerful  lead-line  stroke.  There  is 
also  reason  to  believe  that  he  knew  even  of  the  ink  monochrome  style 
of  Godoshi  and  Omakitsu. 

Of  the  pieces  which  may  be  reckoned  as  possible  Kanawokas  are 
several  strong  seated  Fudos,  with  his  two  doji  or  attendant  boys.  Of 
one  of  these,  a copy  by  Sumiyoshi  is  here  given  in  outline,  showing  the 
Kanawoka  lead-lines.  Another,  in  which  there  is  possibly  later  handling, 
is  the  fine  Fudo  that  was  first  noticed  by  Dr.  Anderson  of  England  at 
Daishoji,  in  Shiba  of  Tokio  in  1879,  and  which  is  now  in  the  Fenollosa 
collection  at  Boston.*  The  beautiful  standing  portrait  of  Shotoku  Taishi 
as  a youth,  owned  by  the  temple  Nennaji  of  Kioto,  has  always  been 
believed  to  be  one  of  the  authentic  pieces.  It  expresses  a nobility  of 
fine  line,  colour  and  expression  not  to  be  found  in  later  Tosa  work. 
The  great  painting  of  lotoses  and  wild  ducks,  which  strangely  enough 
has  from  old  days  been  ascribed  to  Godoshi  by  the  traditions  of  Horiuji, 
its  owner,  is  a most  interesting  piece  of  relatively  secular  work  and 
in  almost  pure  Chinese  style.  The  lotoses  are  as  finely  drawn  as  if 
in  the  throne  of  an  altar-piece.  It  is  possible  that  we  have  here  the 
direct  influence  upon  Kanawoka  of  contemporary  Chinese  artists  of  the 
five  dynasties,  such  as  Joki.  The  relatively  free-lined  work  of  Kanawoka 
is  well  illustrated  by  the  beautiful  Monju  formerly  in  Koyasan,  and 
now  owned  by  Mr.  Freer.  The  ink  school  is  probably  represented  by 

* This  Fudo  was  formerly  owned  by  priests  at  Kamakura  and  sold  by  them  to  Daishoji. 


160  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

the  broad  strokes  and  clouds  of  the  great  thunder  gods  and  dragons 
owned  by  the  Anju-in,  temple  of  Bizen,  of  Kuni  Tomi  Village. 
But  what  I call  the  Godoshi  style  of  Kanawoka  is  finely  shown  in  the 
large  and  unfortunately  much-defaced  paintings  of  nearly  life-size 
Shi  Ten  O,  formerly  one  of  the  great  treasures  of  Todaiji  in  Nara, 
and  now  in  possession  of  the  art  museum  in  Boston  (Fenollosa 
collection).  A head  of  one  of  these  is  here  shown,  which  exhibits  the 

crumbly  touch  of  the  broad  lead  lines,  and  suggests  the  deep  Titian- 

like  colour  of  the  powerful  face.  The  great  sweep  of  the  draperies 
into  the  scalloped  edges  of  the  Tang  cloud  is  like  the  great 
Tang-like  militant  statues  of  Nanyendo.  It  was  this  phase  of  the 
Kanawoka  style  which  was  carried  over  to  the  Shingon  temple  of 
Daigoji  in  Yamashina,  where  I found  the  porcelain  head,  and  where 
a great  school  of  powerful  Buddhist  painting  in  the  Tang  style  was 
inaugurated. 

Of  Kanawoka’s  sons  a few  ascribable  designs  are  extant.  To  Ahimi 
was  given  the  fine  Chinese  Rakan  in  the  Sumiyoshi  collection  of  copies; 
and  Kanetada  may  be  the  author  of  the  great  Bisjamon,  photo- 
graphed from  the  set  of  the  twelve  deva  in  Koriuji  of  Kioto. 

Another  Bisjamon,  of  identical  touch  in  the  draperies,  but  of  stronger 
Godoshi-ish  drawing  in  the  red  devil  under  foot,  is  in  the  collection 
at  Boston.  By  him  too  is  probably  the  fine  Jizo  brought  by  Mr. 
Wakai  to  Paris,  and  reproduced  in  M.  Gonse’s  “ L’Art  Japonais.” 
This  was  formerly  in  the  pope’s  temple  of  Enriakuji  on  Hiyei-zan. 
This  grouping  of  the  twelve  devas  is  a new  Buddhist  subject  brought 
in  with  the  Shingon  sect  by  Kobo  Daishi,  and  soon  popularised  in 
Japan.  Many  of  our  old  friends  appear  here  in  other  dress,  as  this 
same  Bisjamon,  the  Sun  and  Moon  spirits,  and  the  deva  of  Fire  and 
Water.  The  pictures  or  statues  of  these  twelve  are  required  on  the 
occasion  of  a baptism  in  the  Shingon  sect  ; also  a screen  is  required, 
which  shows  an  old-fashioned  coloured  landscape,  the  idea  apparently 
being  to  sit  in  the  presence  of  Nature.  One  of  the  oldest  of  such 
screens,  now  at  Toji,  may  possibly  be  by  Kanetada.  It  shows  hills 
and  trees  in  solid  green,  the  trees  drooping  in  the  old  Chinese  Tartar 
style,  something  between  the  trees  of  the  Shosoin  screen  and  later 
Tosa  landscape.  This  quality  of  landscape,  hardened  a little  by  gold, 
is  also  found  in  works  by  the  grandson,  Kose  Kanemochi.  The  Benten 
in  Boston  is  one  of  these.  In  the  garden  background  we  probably 


One  of  the  Hell  Series, 

"Emma’s  Judgment.”  By  Kanawoka. 
Copied  by  Hirotaka  Sumiyoshi. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  161 

see  something  of  the  style  of  Kanawoka’s  gardens.  Kanemochi  also 
is  said  to  have  left  one  or  two  secular  designs  of  Fujiwara  life. 

The  great-grandson  of  Kanawoka,  fourth  of  the  Kose  line,  and  the 
best  known  after  Kanawoka,  put  more  delicacy,  grace  and  realism  into 
his  work.  His  Jizos  are  very  delicate  and  noble  in  feeling.  (One 
in  Boston.)  His  Monjus  and  Fugens  are  in  many  places.  In  short, 
his  style  becomes  an  imitable  type — a sort  of  fixed  Kose  type  for 
the  Fujiwara  remainder,  in  which  it  is  hard  to  distinguish  the  master 
from  his  followers.  Of  his  semi-secular  works  is  the  screen  painted 
with  scenes  of  Court  dancing  in  colours.  The  musicians  in  gorgeous 
costume  sit  with  drum,  fife  and  sho-o  at  the  back  before  a heavy 
curtain.  A large  mass  of  Hiyei-zan  monks,  muffled  with  white  to 
their  mouths,  stand  about  on  the  right.  Doubtless  they  are  fully 
armed  beneath  their  free  grey  robes.  There  are  ferocity  and  deter- 
mination in  the  small  exposed  parts  of  their  faces.  In  the  centre 
dances  a young  boy,  dressed  probably  in  ancient  Chinese  costume, 
and  with  a long  white  train  curving  on  the  ground.  But  the  greatest 
work  of  Hirotaka  is  the  remainder  of  what  was  once  a series  of  60 
large  paintings  showing  the  doings  of  beings  in  “ The  Ten  Worlds,” 
still  kept  at  Raikoji  of  Sakamoto.  These  are  very  varied  in  subject, 
for  the  scenery  includes  Heaven,  Hell,  the  animal  world,  the  world  ot 
deva,  of  elemental  spirits,  of  ordinary  humanity,  etc.  This  appears 
a splendid  chance  for  realistic  work.  The  best  of  those  which 
have  not  been  lost  or  destroyed  deal  with  scenes  from  the  many  parts 
of  the  Buddhist  Hell.  The  splendour  of  fire,  the  gorgeousness  of  the 
panorama,  where  green  and  red  devils  actually  are  shown  keeping  up 
the  fires  by  shovelling  in  great  black  lumps  that  can  be  no  other 
than  coal,  perhaps  reflect  a weak  tradition  of  what  Godoshi  did  with 
a similar  subject  on  the  walls  of  Changan.  The  piece  which  we  here 
reproduce  is  the  upper  portion  of  the  judgment  hall,  where  Emma, 
the  king  of  Hell,  sits  horrible,  red-faced,  listening  to  the  incriminating 
evidence  dished  up  for  him  by  clerks  and  attorneys.  The  scene 

quite  mirrors  an  ancient  Chinese  Tang  court  of  criminal  justice. 
Below  the  steps  is  the  magic  mirror  which  reflects  truly  the  heart 
of  the  accused,  whatever  be  his  verbal  defence.  Here  one  of  the 
attorneys  points  in  glee  to  its  testimony  of  murder,  while  the  victim 
crouches  at  the  foot  of  the  steps.  Below  is  the  courtyard  where 
condemned  prisoners  are  being  dragged  away  or  tortured.  The  style 


162  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

of  drawing  and  colouring  here  is  a fine  Chinese  of  Tang,  translated 
into  a growing  Kose  formalism.  In  the  scenes  of  human  life  and 
strife,  such  as  for  instance  the  armoured  knights  in  the  battles  of 
Hell,  the  movements  of  horses  and  the  fleeing  of  peasants,  we  have 
a first  suggestion  of  the  kind  of  moving  composition  which  will 
become  familiar  to  us  in  the  next  chapter  as  “ Tosa.”  But  the 
movement  of  the  brush  is  much  stiffer  than  that  of  Tosa,  the  limbs 
and  armour  being  as  precisely  drawn  in  fine  modulated  line  as  if  it 
were  part  of  a hieratic  altar-piece. 

The  tenth  century  went  out  without  any  decisive  modification  of  the 
Fujiwara  regime  at  Kioto.  The  Emperors  were  mostly  puppets,  the 
Empresses  mostly  the  daughters  of  the  dominant  house.  The  type  of 
culture  was  the  relic  ot  what  had  been  learned  from  Tang  more  than  a 
century  before.  For  Tang  had  now  long  fallen,  and  the  Sung  come  in  ; 
but  as  yet  the  Sung,  far  more  restricted  in  empire  that  the  Tang,  was 
more  concerned  in  consolidating  its  conquests  at  home  than  in  com- 
municating with  outlying  peoples.  The  danger  of  such  a state  is  a 
threatening  stagnation.  Poetry  begins  to  show  weakness  and  repetition. 
The  Monogataris  are  poorer  ; painting  more  effeminate.  The  growing 
luxury  of  the  ruling  caste  is  breeding  personal  ambition  and  mutual 
jealousy.  Revolts,  like  the  rebellion  of  Masakado,  have  to  be  put  down. 
The  priestly  estate  is  becoming  unruly  and  jealous  of  its  pampered 
allies.  How  carefully  was  maintained  the  vicious  circle  of  the  Fujiwara 
tyranny  is  proved  by  its  prohibition  of  all  intercourse  with  the  new 
Sung  powers  of  China.  It  was  afraid  of  new  and  liberal  ideas.  The 
Sung  men  were  reported  to  be  free-thinkers.  On  the  one  hand,  in  1034, 
Japanese  students  in  the  Kioto  University  were  being  forced  through 
examinations  in  the  Confucian  classics.  By  1069  Chinese  students  in 
the  Kaifong  University  of  Sung  were  being  prohibited  from  the  use  of 
Confucian  classics  by  order  of  the  great  reformer  Oansaki.  What  an 
anomalous  change  of  positions.  One  of  the  Japanese  nobles,  curious 
as  to  the  other  world’s  doings,  attempted  to  escape  to  China  in  1047, 
was  apprehended,  and  banished  for  his  audacity  to  the  island  of  Sado. 

But  nature  never  stands  still,  and  it  is  hard  to  make  man  do  so 
either. 

Forces  were  already  at  work  to  disrupt  Fujiwara,  such  as  the  gradual 
rise  of  a military  class.  Armies  had  often  been  raised  and  officered 
by  Fujiwara  partisans  ; but  as  these  armies  became  a standing  force  to 


A Buddhist  Trinity  : Amida  with  attendant  Bodhisattwa, 
Kwannon  and  Seishi.  By  Yeishin  Sozu. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  163 

operate  against  the  barbarians  of  both  North  and  South,  their  general, 
though  nobly  loyal,  came  to  possess  hereditary  power.  The  Taira  family 
of  generals  had  been  founded  as  far  back  as  889.  The  rebel  Masakado 
was  a Taira.  The  Minamoto  family  of  generals  came  about  100  years 
later. 

The  complicated  and  expensive  ritual  of  the  dominant  Buddhist  sects, 
and  the  growing  worldliness  and  ambition  of  Enriakuji,  led  in  the 
early  eleventh  century  to  several  attempts  at  simplifying  the  religion — 
making  it  more  popular,  bringing  it  home  to  the  hearts  of  all  men. 

This  was  the  work  of  several  Tendai  priests  like  Eikwan,  who  started 
the  movement  to  make  the  worship  of  Amida  dominant,  a movement 
which  eventually  became  a separate  organization  in  the  Jodo  (free  land) 
sect.  The  paradise  of  Amida  was  no  new  thing  in  either  China  or 
Japan.  The  whole  miracle  play  of  Taimadera  had  been  based  upon 
it  in  the  Nara  days.  But  earlier  representations  had  been  woven  or 
painted  in  elaborate  colours  only.  Now  the  mystic  vision  of  the  reformers 
wished  to  discard  the  elaborate  rituals  of  Fudo  and  Kwannon  and  focus 
all  force  into  the  invocation  of  the  central  Amida,  the  Buddha  of 
boundless  light,  who  was  seen  in  ecstasy  as  a form  of  dazzling  light, 
surrounded  by  a gorgeous  company  of  Bosatsu,  all  equally  luminous. 
Such  light — curiously  like  what  the  neo-Platonists  of  Alexandria  say  of 
the  luminosity  of  their  vision — was  too  intense  for  colour  ; nothing  but 
the  splendour  of  gold  could  suggest  it — gold  not  only  in  the  flesh,  but 
in  the  draperies  down  to  the  last  detail  of  pattern.  The  movement 
was  only  an  intensifying  of  the  mystic  tendencies  of  the  age  ; but  it 
led  to  something  of  a new  departure  in  art.  The  growing  effeminacy 
of  Tang  line  could  now  be  erected  into  a new  canon  ; for  brushwork 
cannot  thicken  freely  lines  made  with  gold  paint.  Moreover,  the 
method  was  rather  of  applying  the  gold  in  finely  cut  strips  by  glue, 
or  of  painting  fine  lines  in  glue  and  affixing  the  gold  leaf.  The  figures 
were  to  be  rendered  more  worshipful  by  an  incredible  suggestion  of 
delicacy,  rather  than  of  power  through  delineation.  It  was  in  some 
sense  a return  to  suggestions  of  the  fine  line  gold  Mandara  figures  of 
early  Tang  ; but  those  had  always  been  done  with  a brush  filled  with 
gold  pigment,  and  were  hardly  more  than  outline.  In  another  sense, 
it  was  a kind  of  return  to  the  delicate  hair  lines  of  Nara  painting.  In 
any  case,  it  was  a distinct  reaction  against  the  alien  Chinese  feeling  of 
early  Fujiwara,  a mixing  of  national  elements,  a school  of  real  Japanese 


1 64  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

art  arising  at  this  end  of  the  Fujiwara  regime.  It  is  this  which  has 
been  in  later  days  dignified  by  a significant  name,  the  Yamato  school. 
It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  there  was  any  violent  change, 
or  that  Chinese  elements  were  really  discarded.  Japan  never  makes  a 
complete  change  of  any  sort.  She  always  recovers  herself  and  unites 
organically  past  with  present. 

The  new  school  of  art  was  really  led  by  another  great  priest, 

Yeishin  Sozu,  who  possessed  at  once  a childlike  belief  in  the  truth 

of  his  own  visions  and  a pictorial  genius  adequate  to  fixing  them 

as  a revelation  for  others.  In  this  respect  he  is  not  unlike  our 
own  Fra  Angelico  of  San  Marco  in  Florence.  And,  curiously 

enough,  their  almost  identical  visions  of  the  angel  host  are  drawn 
in  lines  of  similar  delicacy  and  dominated  with  gold.  Yeishin  generally 
used  more  gold  than  Angelico  ; though  other  artists  of  his  day  mingled 
colour  in  nearly  Florentine  proportions. 

Examples  of  Yeishin’s  work  are  not  so  rare  as  Kanawoka’s. 

H is  favourite  subjects  are  the  Amida  golden  trinity,  Amida’s  descent 
in  glory — Amida’s  paradise — the  happy  life  of  the  musical  angels. 
One  that  was  probably  quite  new  with  him  is  the  appearance  of 
the  Amida  trinity  as  colossal  suns  rising  over  the  edge  of  the 
Eastern  mountains.  There  is  a superstition  yet  existing  in  Japan 

that  on  a certain  night  in  August  true  believers  in  Amida  can  see 
this  effect  with  their  mortal  eyes  ; and  it  is  said  that  in  remote 
places  crowds  sit  up  the  night  for  it — gazing  with  possibly  self- 
hypnotic eyes  into  the  luminous  East. 

A fine  front  Amida  trinity  by  Yeishin  is  here  reproduced. 
The  attendant  Bodhisattwa,  Kwannon  and  Seishi,  bend  graciously  at 
either  side  of  his  feet,  as  if  to  invite  his  arrival.  The  gold  is  so 
evenly  distributed  in  microscopic  pattern  as  to  present  in  small 
photographs  an  almost  continuous  blaze.  A fine  radiation  of  light 
from  Amida’s  body  is  rendered  in  thin  gold  pigment  over  a dark 
blue  ground.  Another  fine  trinity,  two-thirds  turned,  is  in  Boston. 
Chionin  in  Kioto  is  one  of  the  great  temple  centres  of  this  Jodo 
worship  and  possesses  several  fine  examples  ; as  the  great  descent 
of  Amida  and  his  angels  in  an  expanding  fan-shaped  cloud  sweep- 
ing across  the  face  of  Hiyei-zan,  spotted  with  cherry  blooms,  toward 
the  little  pavilion  in  the  corner  where  Yeishin  has  naively  depicted 
himself  as  sitting.  It  is  a vision  of  great  originality  in  spacing, 


■ 


Sunrise  Amida.  By  Yeishin  Sozu 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  165 

and  of  a new  splendour  in  gold  and  colour,  wherein  the  Chinese  element 
is  almost  obliterated.  The  Japanese  foliage  of  the  mountain  side  is 
drawn  realistically,  in  a style  half-way  between  Kanawoka’s  gardens 
and  Tosa  landscape.  The  angel  panels,  hinged  for  shrine  doors, 
remind  us  strongly  of  the  musical  angels  of  Angelico  on  the  gold 
doors  at  the  Ufizzi.  Gracious  figures  they  are,  of  childlike  happiness 
and  innocence.  The  most  splendid  sunrise  Amida  is  the  famous 
triptych  of  panels  in  Kin-kui-kio-miyoji  Kurodani  of  Kioto.  Here 

the  pure  oval  type  of  Yeishin  at  his  best  is  conspicuous.  To  the 
actual  cord  that  issues  from  the  Amida’s  gold  breast  many  Emperors, 
famous  warriors  and  great  priests  have  died  clinging.  Before  its 
majestic  purity  even  the  foreign  spectator  is  hushed  into  a kind  of 
awe.  Another  sunrise  with  more  elements  of  colour  is  in  Zenrinji, 
Kioto.  Here  the  two  Bodhisattwa  have  already  crossed  the  mountains 
to  welcome  from  the  front  the  rising  Amida ; and  a whole  congre- 
gation of  spirits,  led  by  two  small  queenly  figures  in  the  foreground, 
throng  through  the  valleys  below. 

This  new  movement  in  art  led,  about  1000,  to  the  separation  and  firm 
independent  founding  of  two  professional  Buddhist  schools  that  would 
otherwise  have  remained  branches  of  the  Kose.  I refer  to  the  Kasuga 
and  Takuma  families.  The  early  work  of  the  latter  is  not  very 
easily  identified  ; but  we  know  that  the  whole  interior  of  the  lovely 
shrine  at  Biodoin,  already  referred  to,  and  which  was  built  in  1051, 
was  painted  by  Takuma  Tamanari.  These  show  visions  of  life  in 
Paradise,  but  are  mostly  defaced.  The  real  splendour  is  in  the 
unspoiled  ceiling  and  baldachin,  whose  inlaying  has  been  already 
described  as  typical  Fujiwara  luxury. 

The  Kasuga  school,  said  to  be  continuous  in  family  blood  with 
the  late  Tosa,  was  founded  by  Motomitsu,  whose  work  seems  so 
closely  affiliated  with  both  Hirotaka’s  and  Yeishin’s  that  we  are 
almost  bound  to  believe  him  at  first  a Kose  pupil  who  learned  closely 
to  follow  the  vision-seeing  priest.  The  family  name  Kasuga  probably 
denotes  that  he  officiated  as  Court  painter  to  the  much  patronized 
Shinto  shrine  of  that  name  in  Nara.  A fine  example  is  his  enthroned 
Kwannon  in  Toji,  where  the  halo  is  made  up  of  inlaid  lozenges  of 
gold.  The  delicious  minute  tracery  of  his  gold  draperies,  as  also  of 
Yeishin  Sozu’s,  is  exemplified  in  the  fine  Amida  of  the  panel  triptych 
at  Boston.  The  gorgeous  twelve  paintings  of  the  Juni  Ten  at  Jingoji 


1 66  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

of  Takawo — one  of  Kobo’s  picturesque  foundations — I have  ascribed 
to  him.  Here  the  colour,  gorgeous  yellow-greens  and  oranges  spotted 
over  deeper  oranges  and  purples,  is  a new  expanded  glorification  of  the 
sort  of  colouring  found  on  the  new  Tempei  painted  altar-pieces.  Here 
there  is  again  exemplified  that  semi-conscious  return  to  Nara  art  as  a 
pre-Tang  native  type  suggested  by  such  names  as  “Yamato”  and 
“ Kasuga.”  Motomitsu  is  also  said  to  be  the  author  of  a secular 
painting  ot  wrestlers — Kose-ish,  and  of  no  great  merit. 

But  one  ot  his  most  striking  works  is  the  unique  profile  view 
across  some  of  the  pavilions  of  Amida’s  gardens,  owned  by  Mr.  Freer. 
Here  we  get  an  added  suggestion  of  the  light  Fujiwara  architecture  ; 
here  outlined  in  gold.  The  little  gold  figures  of  the  trinities  sit  about 
on  the  floors  receiving  as  guests  their  angel  friends,  or  work  and  teach 
at  the  open  casement  windows  of  the  upper  storeys.  Now  they  take  a 
walk  down  the  fine  curves  of  the  garden,  or  stoop  at  the  edge  of  a 
pond  to  pluck  the  gold  lotoses. 

Others  of  the  Kasuga  family  are  the  priest  Chinkai — noted  for  his 
Monjus — the  inheriting  son  Takayoshi,  and  the  grandson  Takachika. 
By  Takayoshi,  or  some  unidentified  pupil  of  Yeishin,  are  the  best  of 
the  great  gold  and  coloured  Paradises  owned  by  Chionin.  The  style  is 
not  so  free  and  naive — lull  of  unexpected  line  feeling — as  with  either 
Yeishin  or  Motomitsu.  The  crowded  figures  are  more  based  upon  the 
hieratic  Nara  traditional  composition,  which  was  itself  based  upon  a 
pre-Tang  original  of  about  the  year  600. 

The  third  generation,  Takachika,  shews  a decidedly  weak  effeminacy 
in  even  this  late  Fujiwara  movement.  His  line  is  reduced  to  the 
finest  hair’s-breadth,  his  faces  are  like  doll’s,  their  eyes  and  mouths  being 
drawn  with  single  microscopic  lines.  Yet  the  gold  in  his  altar-pieces, 
and  the  over-delicate  colours,  as  in  his  Fugen  at  Boston — seem  more 
like  a film  deposited  by  the  breath  than  by  any  kind  of  handwork. 
The  famous  illustrations  to  the  Monogotaris  by  him,  showing  a secular 
painting  of  Fujiwara  life  in  its  last  stage  of  weakness,  are  more  cele- 
brated for  their  naivete  and  historical  interest,  and  for  their  delicacy  of 
colour,  than  for  the  beauty  of  their  figure  drawing.  It  is  a pure 

convention  which  makes  the  thin  black  stream  of  a woman’s  hair  flow 
down  the  sides  of  these  dolls  ; but  their  charm  was  great  enough  to 
influence  the  late  Tosa  art  of  such  a remote  age  as  Tokugawa,  and 
even  the  art  of  Korin.  In  short,  the  decay  of  Fujiwara  art  implies  a 


Temple  of  Biodoin. 


MYSTICAL  BUDDHIST  ART  IN  JAPAN  167 

complete  break-up  of  the  tradition  of  at  least  a noble  form  and  pro- 
portion that  came  from  early  Tang.  Now,  as  in  Takachika,  the  figures 
may  be  but  seven  heads  high  ; in  contemporary  Takuma  they  may 
rise  to  eleven  and  twelve.  The  Chinese  key  even  to  the  Japanese 
efflorescence  is  lost. 

But  before  closing  this  chapter  it  is  necessary  to  refer  to  a very 
interesting  revival  of  sculpture  which  accompanied  the  late  Fujiwara 
renaissance  of  Yeishin  in  painting.  Of  course,  sculpture,  the  pre- 
dominant art  of  the  Nara  age,  had  never  wholly  died  away,  for  there 
was  always  some  demand  for  wooden  altar-pieces.  These  at  first,  as  we 
have  seen,  tended  to  follow  Tang  models.  Later,  during  Engi,  we 
find  occasional  carved  Buddhas  based  evidently  upon  the  semi-Japanese 
proportions  of  Kanawoka.  But  these  are  exceptional  ; since  the  very 
inwardness  of  the  new  visional  worship  led  to  small  altars  before  which 
the  neophyte  dreamed,  entirely  different  from  the  vast  spectacular 
platforms  covered  with  statuary  of  the  Nara  day.  In  Shingon  and 
Tendai — still  more  in  Jodo — the  altar  tends  to  be  only  a separate 
receptacle  for  a central  closed  shrine,  with  space  for  candlesticks  and 
vases.  Even  these  became  relegated  to  a table  in  front  of  the  shrinking 
altar.  So  no  room  was  left  for  large  statues.  However,  in  the  days 
of  the  Yeishin  revival  there  was  a thought  to  get  back  to  Nara 
sculpture,  though  in  smaller  pieces  ; to  have  a Yamato  school  in  statues 
also  ; and  elaborate  altars  were  prepared  with  smoothly  carved  gold 
Amidas,  to  take  the  place,  at  times,  of  the  painted  altar  panels.  A 
great  sculptor  too  arose,  contemporary  with  Hirotaka  and  Motomitsu, 
who  lent  genius  to  the  school,  namely  Jocho,  who  left  behind  him  a 
tradition  parallel  with  the  waning  Kasuga.  Jocho  is  the  first  great 

sculptor  of  lay  origin,  as  Kanawoka  was  the  first  professional  painter. 

Though  he  went  back  to  Nara  for  some  of  his  types,  he  modified 

them,  no  doubt  to  conform  with  the  more  rounded  proportions  of  the 
deities  painted  by  Yeishin.  Typical  of  his  work  is  the  profile  Amida. 
It  is  dumpy  and  sleek  as  compared  with  Yakushiji  bronzes,  but  sweetly 
peaceful  and  sleepy.  It  is  well  to  note  here  that  the  great  gold 

Amida  statue  in  the  centre  of  the  Hoodo  of  Biodoin,  as  well  as  the 
Gothic  flame  halo — all  covered  with  gold — is  the  work  of  Yeishin 
Sozu,  working  as  sculptor  in  the  style  of  Jocho.  The  fine  set  of  small 
militant  figures,  imitated  with  changes  from  eighth-century  Yakushi 
generals,  and  kept  in  the  Tokondo  of  Kofukuji,  is  by  Jocho.  In 


1 68  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

the  best  of  these  is  seen  some  of  the  finest  action  in  Japanese  art. 

The  general  in  helmet  gazing  down  his  arrow  to  test  its  straightness 

is  almost  as  fine  as  the  clay  Shitenno  of  Kaidendo.  In  the  fine  pro- 
portion and  action  of  these  figures  we  see  reflected  the  best  features 

of  Kose  drawing,  derived  from  Kanawoka.  Still  more  in  the  manner 
of  Hirotaka  is  the  fine  carved  pocket  shrine  with  opening  covers 
showing  in  high  relief  Monju  riding  sidewise  on  his  lion.  This  is, 
perhaps,  by  a pupil  of  Jocho.  Another  one  of  the  very  late  Jocho-ish 
sculptures  is  the  violent  action  of  a stamping  devil  with  a spear. 

Just  here  we  should  perhaps  notice  typical  Fujiwara  bronze  work  in 
the  mirrors  with  fine  flower  and  butterfly  patterns  and  the  inlaid  lacquer 
of  stiff*  scroll  design.  There  the  gleaming  plates  of  pearl  well  illustrate 
on  a small  scale  Fujiwara  interior  decoration.  Other  wooden  utensils 
of  the  day  are  painted  in  similar  scrolls. 


FROM  THE  TWENTY  ROLLS  CALLED 
“MIRACLES  OF  KASUGA  ” 

BY  TAKAKANE 

Owned  by  the  Imperial  Household  of  Japan 


G HJJ/.D  a i J 071  YT>iav/T  3HT.  MOflG 
" ADU2/.H  GO  83LJO/vflIK" 

cV/J.'A!  >i/-T  7 cl 

* VC  A'l  ^ ; : ! 


Chapter  IX. 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN. 

Kamakura — The  Tosa  School . 

IF  Hegel’s  theory  that  all  forms  of  existence  tend  to  pass  into 
their  opposites  needed  historic  confirmation,  a better  example  could 
not  be  found  than  what  happened  to  Japanese  society  in  the  twelfth 
century.  It  is  as  if  a cataclysm  had  suddenly  set  a new  Japan  at 
the  antipodes  of  the  old.  The  revolution  of  1868  which  destroyed 
the  Feudal  system  was  more  rapid  indeed,  but  not  more  decisive 
than  the  one  of  seven  hundred  years  earlier  that  inaugurated  it. 

Yet,  as  in  all  such  strangest  extremes  of  change,  the  causes  were 
natural,  weighty  and  cumulative.  No  phase  or  school  of  art  in 

human  society,  however  beautiful,  but  contains  within  itself  the  germs 
of  its  own  destruction.  The  longer  and  finer  it  has  been,  the  more 
violent  becomes  the  disruption,  the  more  striking  the  reaction.  So 

with  the  ultra-refined  aristocratic  idealism  of  Fujiwara  : in  spite  of 
its  beauty,  its  culture,  its  power,  its  cunningly  devised  alliance  of  the 
ruling  estates,  it  could  not  master,  tame  or  fully  allow  for  that 
unruly  demon  of  selfishness  in  man,  who  when  he  finds  forms 

inconvenient  incontinently  smashes  them.  With  all  its  benefits  to  the 
land — its  proposed  peace,  its  unique  enlightenment — this  regime  had 
been,  after  all,  the  selfish  aggrandizement  of  a single  noble  clan.  So 

long  as  great  men  could  rule  that  clan  it  bade  fair  to  rule  the  world. 

But  if  as  the  clan  expanded  dissensions  should  arise  among  its 
members  its  power  would  quickly  totter.  As  a fact,  some  small 
dissensions  began  as  far  back  as  the  tenth  century.  In  934  Fujiwara 
Sumitomo  had  revolted  against  his  fellows,  but  had  been  quickly  put 
down.  Through  the  rest  of  the  tenth  and  through  most  of  the 
eleventh  centuries  the  system  reigned  supreme.  It  had  to  encounter, 
vol.  1.  O 


170  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

however,  the  growing  opposition  of  the  religious  estate.  The  priests 
of  Enriakuji,  forming  an  army  in  themselves,  sometimes  came  down 
to  the  Kioto  civil  court  to  interfere  and  threaten.  The  causes  of 

dissension  were  religious  as  well,  and  there  were  battles  between  the 

hooded  monks  of  Nara  and  Otsu.  In  1 1 1 3 the  temple-castle  of  the 
Tendai  popes  upon  the  hill  declared  war  upon  Kioto,  but  suffered 

defeat.  In  1143  the  Nara  priests,  following  the  cue  of  one  of  the 
Fujiwara  factions,  attacked  and  burned  Enriakuji.  The  Enriakuji 
armies  retorted  by  burning  the  entire  city  of  Otsu. 

The  whole  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century  was  thus  filled  with  omens 
of  decay  and  disaster  in  Kioto.  The  Fujiwara  factions,  divided  hope- 
lessly, called  in  not  only  the  mountain  priests,  with  swords  hidden 
under  their  robes,  but  undertook  to  throw  the  Imperial  estate  into  the 
melting  pot  by  setting  up  rival  emperors  as  figure-heads  for  each ; thus 
splitting  the  whole  nation  with  the  crevasse  of  a divided  loyalty.  This 
happened  in  1157,  and  it  was  now  necessary  for  the  standing  armies 
and  their  generals,  who  heretofore  had  held  themselves  loyal  to  the 
Fujiwara  civil  ministers  and  the  Imperial  seal  which  they  wielded,  to 
choose  sides.  In  fact  the  Fujiwara  of  both  sides,  enervated  by  centu- 
ries of  luxurious  and  peaceful  living,  were  far  from  erecting  themselves 
into  adequate  warriors.  They  were  rather  like  the  astute  politicians  of 
fifteenth  century  Italian  cities,  who  employed  mercenaries  to  do  their 
fighting.  And  it  now,  indeed,  became  a matter  of  life  and  death  to  the 
leaders  who  could  offer  the  largest  bribes  to  the  ablest  generals.  In  the 
great  civil  war  of  three  years  that  ensued — called  the  Hogen  Heiji 
war — both  sides  fought  with  the  ferocity  of  rankling  family  feuds. 
Kioto  became  a cockpit,  with  the  centre  of  operations  now  on  the  flanks 
of  Hiyie-zan,  now  in  the  Western  side  of  the  valley.  The  palaces,  the 
wealth,  the  books,  the  temples,  the  treasures  of  art — the  luxurious  and 
aesthetic  institutions  that  had  accumulated  through  peaceful  centuries — 
were  now  almost  as  suddenly  and  utterly  swept  away  as  was  San 
Francisco  in  her  three  terrible  days  of  earthquake  and  fire. 

The  sanguinary  quality  of  these  campaigns  and  the  nature  of  govern- 
ment power  which  soon  built  itself  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Fujiwara  has 
now  to  be  explained  in  the  new  factor  of  the  standing  military,  which 
would  seem  to  have  had  no  legitimate  footing  in  the  complicated  circle 
of  the  oligarchy.  In  early  Nara  days  there  had  existed  no  separate  class 
of  soldiers.  From  the  age  of  Jimmu  Tenno  downward  the  army  was 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  171 

theoretically  the  whole  nation,  just  as  it  is  with  the  semi-savage  hordes 
of  the  Pacific  Islands.  The  emperor  was  their  natural  general  first  of 
all — a great  war  chief — who  only  gradually,  and  hardly  before  Kwammu’s 
time  too,  took  on  much  of  Chinese  Imperial  isolation.  It  was  the  very 
cordon  of  Fujiwara  courtiers  drawn  so  tightly  about  the  emperor  that 
quite  obscured  his  military  function  and  made  it  necessary,  for  purposes 
of  local  campaigns,  to  appoint  substitutes  in  the  persons  of  national 
generals,  subordinate  to  their  civil  administration.  As  vast  cities  rose, 
too,  with  the  industrial  classes;  and  as  the  fields  of  disturbance — wars 
chiefly  waged  against  the  half-subdued  tribes  of  North  and  South — 
became  located  farther  and  farther  from  the  populous  centres,  it  became 
imperative  to  organise  standing  armies  under  these  generals,  who  should 
live  permanently  near  the  frontiers,  without  the  necessity  of  difficult 
marches  through  hundreds  of  miles. 

Such  a general  indeed  had  been  appointed  in  the  very  first  years  of 
the  new  Heian  capital,  by  the  need  of  making  a tremendous  effort  to 
dislodge  the  still  powerful  Ainos  of  the  East,  who  held  the  mountain 
passes  about  the  base  of  Fujiyama.  It  was  these  primitive  inhabitants 
of  the  land  who  had  been  heirs  of  many  of  the  Pacific  traditions  and 
arts,  and  in  the  already  conquered  provinces  had  contributed  relics  and 
names  to  their  western  congeners  with  whom  they  amalgamated.  But 
few  dwellers  of  the  Yamato  race — Corean,  Malay  or  both,  and  perhaps 
at  first  not  so  superior  to  or  different  from  their  despised  predecessors — 
yet  lived  in  the  dark  East  and  North.  So  Tamura  Maro  received  for 
the  first  time  the  title  of  “ Sei-i  Tai  Shogun,”  “great  barbarian-conquering 
general,”  which  title  was  held  by  the  Tokugawa  Shoguns  at  Yedo,  down 
to  1868.  He  conducted  a successful  campaign  for  eight  years,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  seized  and  opened  the  great  Hakone  mountain  high- 
way to  the  fertile  plains  of  the  North  East.  One  of  the  great  dramas 
of  the  later  No  is  based  upon  his  deeds. 

In  854  and  857  there  was  further  trouble  with  barbarians  on  both 
the  North  and  the  South.  The  inhabitants  of  Lower  Kiushiu  and  even 
the  island  of  Tsushima  were  in  some  kind  of  revolt.  It  does  not 
clearly  appear  who  these  Southern  barbarians,  often  spoken  of,  were. 
That  they  had  affiliation  with  people  from  China  seems  clear  from  the 
fact  that  their  armies  were  sometimes  reinforced  from  the  mainland. 
They  were  probably  the  remains  of  primitive  races,  officered  by  Chinese 
refugees  or  pirates.  Even  hostile  parties  from  Corea  are  said  to  have 


172  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

come  over  in  894.  There  was  fighting  with  Coreans  again  in  935. 
By  994  the  troublesome  bands  in  various  parts  of  the  empire  are  called, 
in  the  annals,  “ Robber  Western  Barbarians”  ; they  invaded  Japan  in  999. 
In  1020  it  is  expressly  said  that  barbarians  from  the  South  East  of 
China  attacked  the  province  of  Satsuma.  In  109 1 the  enemies  against 
which  the  armies  proceed  are  officered  by  Japanese  generals  who  have 
revolted  from  Fujiwara  allegiance.  In  1135  the  enemies  are  spoken  of 
as  “pirates.”  And  by  this  time,  too,  the  Northern  armies  were  encamped 
far  up  beyond  the  plain  of  Musashi  in  the  mountain  depths  (Oka). 
It  was  the  possession  of  the  Eastern  plain,  doubtless — the  granary  of 
Japan— which  overthrew  the  Aino  power,  made  it  possible  for  the 
soldiers  in  the  intervals  of  fighting  to  till  the  fertile  lands  and  store 
up  supplies  for  later  campaigns,  and  eventually  gave  the  preponderating 
power  to  the  Northern  generals. 

But  the  Fujiwaras  had  been  shrewd  enough  to  create  several  families 
of  generals,  each  to  be  held  in  a sort  of  clan  bond  with  hostages  at 
Kioto,  and  whose  individual  members  should  enjoy  only  limited  com- 
mands. Prince  Takamochi  had  been  given  the  family  name  of  “ Taira,” 
as  far  back  as  889.  Taira  generals  descended  from  him  ruled  in  the 
North.  One  of  them,  Masakado,  who  held  court  near  the  present  site 
of  Yedo,  then  a wild  swamp  in  a province  but  recently  conquered 
by  Tamura,  became  so  impressed  with  his  far  and  independent  sources 
of  wealth  that  he  actually  revolted,  not  only  against  his  Fujiwara 
overlords,  but  against  the  Mikado,  calling  himself  an  independent 
Emperor.  This  is  said  to  be  the  only  case  of  such  supreme  treason 
in  Japanese  history  ; a fact  probably  due  to  the  enormous  advantage 
of  the  Mikado’s  divine  (Shinto)  descent,  which  could  be  much  better 
utilized  through  craft  than  assumed  or  ignored.  Other  generals,  some 
of  them  Taira,  more  loyal  or  more  politic,  defeated  and  killed  Masakado. 
Strangely  enough,  his  spirit  is  still  worshipped  as  the  Shinto  deity, 
“ Kanda  Miyojin,”  in  the  heart  of  modern  Tokio. 

In  the  last  years  of  the  tenth  century  a general  of  the  newly- 
prominent  Minamoto  family,  Mitsunaba,  had  supplanted  some  of  the 
Taira  in  the  North.  In  1051  the  beautiful  shrine  of  Biodoin  was 
built  by  Minamoto  Yorimichi,  who  now  took  rank,  though  so  near 
Kioti,  as  a powerful  noble.  It  was  at  this  time,  between  1053  and 
1066,  that  the  rising  influence  of  the  two  families,  Taira  and  Mina- 
moto, brought  them  into  something  like  rivalry.  At  the  same  time, 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  173 

in  spite  of  Fujiwara  precautions,  the  power  of  each  family  tended 
to  centre  in  a single  clan  head.  The  loyalty  of  the  junior  members 
of  each  house  and  of  their  soldiers,  half  agricultural,  half  campaign- 
ing, became  hereditary,  because  a necessity  in  the  petty  trickeries 
and  conflicts  that  were  arising.  It  is  not  strange  that  the  half-wild 
soldiers,  cut  off*  permanently  from  the  traditions  of  city  life  and  only 
dreading  the  strange  far-away  name  of  Fujiwara,  sharing  the  perils 
of  campaign  with  their  trusted  leader  and  in  times  of  peace  receiving 
largesse  from  him  out  of  accumulated  stores,  should  come  to  have 
their  loyalty  take  on  the  intensity  of  a passion.  It  is  just  here, 
and  especially  in  the  camps  of  the  Minamoto,  who  had  come  to 
hold  the  whole  North-East,  that  first  arose  that  code  of  exaggerated 
feudal  loyalty  and  honour  that  five  centuries  later  played  such  a 
brilliant  part  in  Tokugawa  legend  and  character.  Through  centuries 
it  hardened  into  an  institution  and  love,  like  the  almost  insane  love 
that  Napoleon’s  soldiers  felt  for  their  semi-detached  campaigner  in 
Italy  and  Austria. 

Such  was  the  unstable  state  of  the  armies  and  their  generals  when 
the  bitter  feuds  among  the  Fujiwaras  called  them  in  as  decisive 
factors  in  1153.  There  had  already  been  causes  of  growing  enmity 
and  rivalry  between  the  two  clans  of  leaders.  Minamoto  Yoriyoshi, 
who  had  spent  all  his  life  in  baiting  Tairas,  had  died  in  1082,  and  his 
still  greater  son,  Yoshiiye,  had  been  sent  by  a Fujiwara  minister 
in  1091  to  put  down  two  rebellious  Tairas. 

The  Tairas  then  tried  to  turn  the  Minamotos  against  each  other. 
Yoshimitsu  had  become  the  single  head  of  the  clan  before  1127. 
But  just  here  the  head  of  the  Taira  house,  Tadamori,  rose  into 
great  prominence  by  his  brilliant  and  successful  campaign  against  the 
pirates  of  the  South-West  in  1135.  Kiyomori  had  become  his 
successor  as  head  of  the  Southern  armies  in  1153.  Yoshitomo  had 

become  the  hereditary  leader  of  the  Northern  Minamoto  in  1127. 
As  a crisis  drew  near  in  Fujiwara  dissensions  both  of  these  ambitious 
generals,  smarting  with  several  generations  of  heated  rivalry,  began  to 
assemble  the  pick  of  their  troops  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Kioto. 
When  the  crash  came  it  was  they  and  their  captains  who  let  the 
violence  of  their  civil  campaigning  derive  far  more  from  professional 

hatred  than  from  any  real  loyalty  to  the  Fujiwara  factions  who  paid 

them,  or  to  the  puppet  Emperors  which  it  became  their  respective 


174  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

policies  to  acknowledge.  Thus  it  was  that  when  the  holocaust  of 
Kioto  in  the  Hogen  Heiji  war  ended  with  the  triumph  of  the 
Taira’s  employees,  it  was  not  the  Fujiwara  remnants  who  found 
themselves  reinstated  in  the  old  family  power,  but  a new  military 
tyrant,  Kiyomori,  who  for  the  time  used  his  noble  patrons  as  his 
puppets,  just  as  they  were  using  the  Emperor.  Minamoto  Yoshitomo 
was  defeated  and  killed,  and  his  retainers  dispersed  in  flight  to  their 
seats  in  the  far  North.  Kiyomori  began  to  rebuild  Kioto,  and  as 

military  dictator  devise  new  laws  for  its  governing.  The  puppet 
Emperor  of  the  Fujiwaras  died  in  1165,  aged  only  twenty-three, 
and  his  successor  immediately  made  Taira  Kiyomori  prime  minister, 
thus  elevating  him  over  the  heads  of  the  Fujiwara.  In  1171  Kiyomori 
married  his  daughter  to  the  Mikado  as  legitimate  Empress.  Thus  a 
general  of  the  army,  lawless  and  uncultured,  had  learned  to  play  the 
same  political  game  taught  him  by  the  cultured  Fujiwara,  in  whose 
hands,  indeed,  it  had  been  less  disastrous  to  the  nation.  In  1179 
Kiyomori  had  banished  the  old  ex-Emperor,  Go-Shirakawa,  who  had  ruled 
before  the  Hogen  Heiji  debacle.  The  Fujiwara  were  thus  reduced  to 
a handful  of  clerks,  and  Kiyomori  and  his  family  enjoyed  the  sweets 
and  splendours  of  power  in  peace  at  Kioto  for  twenty  years,  from 
1160  to  1180.  In  this  time  they  borrowed  much  of  external  cul- 
ture from  their  enemies,  built  fine  palaces  and  wore  rich  clothing. 
This  intermediate  age  can  be  called  the  age  of  Taira  domination. 

It  is  now  important  to  question  what  had  become  of  the  fine 
arts  of  Japan  during  the  last  stages  of  Fujiwara  weakness,  and  during 
the  Taira  ascendency.  The  connecting  link  is  the  secular  painting  of 
that  last  Kasuga  artist  of  the  Fujiwara,  Takachika,  of  whom  we  spoke 
at  the  end  of  the  preceding  chapter.  He  gives  us  pictures  of  this 
over-ripe  society  indeed — but  in  a formal  weakness  as  decadent  as 
the  reality.  What  particularly  contrasts  with  the  powerful  times  to 
follow — in  fact,  the  work  of  his  own  sons — is  the  minuteness 
and  absence  of  all  dramatic  instinct  in  his  hair  line.  It  is  beautiful, 
but  forceless.  It  breathes  an  atmosphere,  but  one  that  is  of  incense 
and  calm  waiting.  With  what  a shock  the  “ Praetorian  Guards  ” of 
Minamoto  and  Taira  must  have  burst  into  these  sleepy  precincts. 
Their  tough  swords  would  have  cut  such  flesh  like  cheese. 

The  real  founder  of  a new  style,  that  strikes  just  an  antipodal 
note,  was  the  priest  Kakuyu,  better  known  by  the  title  Toba  Sojo. 


6 


Battle  of  the  Bulls.  By  Toba  So} 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  175 

He  could  look  at  all  this  Imperial  ruin  falling  about  him  and  laugh. 
He  it  was  who  determined  to  relieve  the  dire  distress  of  the 
Emperor  Toba-in*  by  making  panoramas  of  humorous  sketches, 
largely  of  animals — horses,  bulls,  dogs,  frogs  and  goats — acting 
as  if  they  were  human  beings.  Doubtless  some  sting  of  Buddhist 
satire  lay  behind  the  seeming  joke.  The  work  was  dashed  off  in 
almost  pure  line,  but  with  a racy  vigour  and  sweep  of  motion  that 
make  it  live.  A number  of  rolls  of  these  historic  drawings  are 
preserved  in  the  little  temple  of  Kozanji  among  the  hills  to  the 
north-west  of  Kioto.  These  are  reckoned  among  the  great  treasures 
of  the  lEmpire.  We  reproduce  here  the  famous  “Battle  of  the 

Bulls,”  which  illustrates  well  Toba  Sojo’s  extraordinary  power,  and 
seems,  in  spite  of  its  simplicity  of  line,  to  realize  the  utmost 
impression  of  shock. 

What  this  new  work  actually  accomplished  was  something  like 
half  a dozen  revolutions.  It  is  the  real  beginning  of  secular  art  in 
Japan,  as  opposed  to  the  religious  forms,  sculpture  and  painting, 
with  which  alone  we  have  been  engrossed  so  far  in  this  work.  It 
is  the  first  important  display  of  humour  since  the  decadent  statues 
of  Nara.  It  employs  bare  black  and  white  instead  of  Takachika’s 
illuminated  colour.  It  gives  us  an  absolutely  new  line,  flexible  like 
the  Buddhist,  thickening  like  Godoshi’s,  yet  as  far  removed  from 
lead  lines  as  flesh  is  from  metal.  It  infuses  juice  into  Takachika’s 
delineation  without  becoming  abstract  penmanship. 

What  it  does  is  to  give  us  flexibility  of  muscles  in  action  ; and 
here  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  revolutions — motion.  The  mystical 
Buddhist  art  gave  us  splendid  poses,  the  suggestion  of  freedom  to  act, 
especially  in  Godoshi,  Ririomin  and  Kanawoka.  Still,  upon  the  whole 
it  was  a statuesque  art,  dramatically  grouped,  yet  with  severe  dignity. 
But  Toba  Sojo  has  thrown  dignity  to  the  winds,  yet  gives  us  a full 
impression  of  life.  In  all  these  points  he  foreshadows  qualities  that 
are  to  become  dominant  in  a new  school  for  the  next  two  centuries. 

Another  important  work  of  Toba  Sojo  is  the  “ Shigi-zan  Engi,” 
kept  in  the  temple  on  the  top  of  Shigi  mountain  in  Yamato,  to  the 
north-west  of  Tatsuta.  This,  too,  is  humorous,  narrating  the  miracle 
by  which  a whole  storehouse  full  of  rice  is  said  to  have  been  carried 

*The  name  of  this  Emperor  while  reigning  was  Sutoku,  after  retirement  he  was  known 
as  Toba-in. 


iy6  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

up  through  the  air  to  the  needy  abbots  during  the  time  of  a siege. 
Here  we  get  the  wonderful  crisp  short  stroke  of  the  coming  Tosa, 

done  with  a soft  yet  free  pen,  in  human  figures  and  their  draperies. 

The  efforts  of  an  aged,  fat  Fujiwara  lord  to  mount  his  horse  are 
humorous  indeed. 

The  other  chief  innovator,  who  worked  at  first  in  Kiyomori’s 
time,  was  a scion  of  the  hitherto  reigning  aristocratic  house,  Fujiwara 
Takanobu,  who,  like  so  many  of  his  relatives,  is  found  in  this  and 
the  succeeding  age  ready  to  turn  fine  education  and  ripe  talents  to 
good  use  in  earning  a living.  These  threadbare  nobles,  whose 
ancestors  had  been  the  literary  lights  of  ages,  writing  for  power, 
fame  or  imperial  patronage,  now  had  to  set  to  in  earnest,  and  pen 

it  away  for  daily  rice.  It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  they  did  it  with 
such  fine  dignity  as  to  win  new  encomiums  from  their  rivals.  The 

tales  of  these  poor  “ kuge,”  emperors  and  nobles  alike  shabbily 
neglected  by  a new  brutal  race  of  lords,  afford  one  of  the  chief 
romantic  motives  of  the  middle  ages,  in  story  and  in  plays. 

Takanobu’s  work  is  rare  ; but  one  of  his  important  pieces  is 
the  elaborate  set  of  large  paintings  in  the  Boston  Art  Museum, 
narrating  the  whole  romantic  life  of  Shotoku  Taishi  in  separate 
dramatic  scenes.  This  set  was  the  most  important  heirloom  of  the 
Sumiyoshi  family  at  the  death  of  its  last  patriarch,  my  teacher 
Hirokata,  in  1885.  To  save  it  from  the  possible  wrangling  of  heirs, 
and  to  leave  ready  money  to  his  estimable  widow,  he,  on  his  death- 
bed, sold  it  to  me.  His  signature,  painfully  affixed  to  the  receipt, 
is  treasured  by  me  as  his  last  autograph.  It  is  only  next  in  impor- 
tance to  the  Keion  roll,  in  the  Tosa  paintings  of  the  Fenollosa 
Collection.  It  was  regarded  by  generations  of  Tosas  and  Sumiyoshis 
as  the  typical  example  of  Takanobu  in  Japan. 

In  its  drawing  of  hundreds  of  men,  horses  and  other  animals  it 
is  not  so  racy  and  free  as  Toba  Sojo’s,  retaining  something  of  the 
stiffness  displayed  by  Kose  Hirotaka  in  the  secular  portions  of  his 
“ Scenes  of  Hell  ” at  Sakamoto.  But  the  strokes  are  softer  and  freer 
than  the  latter,  less  like  a design  in  wonderfully  graded  wires,  flowing 
together  more  like  small  and  continuous  streams.  The  action  and 
grouping  are  both  striking,  and  a new  special  effect  is  produced  in  the 
individuality  of  the  faces.  Here  no  trace  remains  of  Chinese  Buddhist 
countenances,  as  found  in  Kose;  rather  it  is  the  every-day  type  of 


Portrait  of  Yoritomo.  By  Takanobu. 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  177 

Japanese  countenance,  veritable  portraits,  as  seen  about  him  in  the 
Kioto  streets.  The  effect  of  realism  is  further  enhanced  by  the 
revolutionary  convention  of  discarding  all  attempts  at  archaeological 
accuracy  in  costume.  To  reproduce  the  dress  and  armour  of  his 
vivid  exciting  days  was  enough  for  Takanobu,  even  though  his 
subject  reverted  to  six  hundred  year  old  scenes.  In  this  innovation 
he  is  followed  by  the  whole  line  of  Tosa  artists.  He  has  retained 
colour  in  this  work,  and,  unfortunately,  the  use  of  silk,  the  frailty  of 
which  has  led  to  some  defacement.  The  landscape  backgrounds  are  a 
naturalistic  modification  of  the  Kose,  as  found  in  their  Japanese  altar- 
pieces  : green  and  blue  mountains  in  free  running  strata — as  may  be 
photographed  to-day  in  Kioto  suburbs — and  fine  curving  trees  of  purely 
Japanese  varieties.  In  this  respect  of  landscape,  also,  Takanobu  is  the 
forerunner  of  Tosa. 

But  perhaps  Takanobu’s  greatest  contemporary  fame  was  found  in 
his  portraiture.  With  a few  telling  lines  he  could  bring  before  us 
the  very  individuality  of  the  passing  notables.  A group  of  such 
portraits  on  silk,  large  seated  figures,  is  still  kept  at  the  temple 

Jingoji  in  Takawo,  one  of  Kobo  Daishi’s  erections.  Of  these  the  most 
important,  historically  and  assthetically,  is  the  only  great  authoritative 
portrait  of  Minamoto  Yoritomo,  the  son  of  that  Yoshitomo  defeated 
by  Kiyomori  in  1160,  and  whose  unique  deeds  in  the  age  that 
immediately  supervened  we  have  now  to  narrate. 

The  Fujiwara  had  been  overturned  and  the  rude  Taira  had 
supplanted  them.  Very  well,  then,  we  are  perhaps  on  the  verge  of 

a new  and  modified  court  age  at  historic  Kioto.  So,  no  doubt, 

thought  the  Taira  lords  who  were  giving  themselves  up  to  unwonted 
dissipation.  But  it  was  a short  and  vain  dream.  There  was  an  eaglet 
abroad,  two  fledglings  in  fact,  escaped  from  the  Minamoto  nest  which 
Kiyomori  had  thought  to  annihilate.  When  Yoshitomo  and  the  flower 
of  their  clan  fell,  his  wife,  the  famous  and  beautiful  Tokiwa  Gozen, 
with  her  two  little  sons  Yoritomo  and  Yoshitsune,  fled  from  the  environs 
of  Kioto  and  tried  to  make  their  way  to  the  fertile  plains  still  held 
by  her  friends  in  the  North  East,  and  where  she  knew  the  education 
of  those  who  should  avenge  their  father  would  be  in  safe  hands. 

Kiyomori  had  already  issued  an  edict  of  proscription  for  the  sons,  whose 

family  valour  he  knew  he  would  some  day  have  reason  to  fear.  Spies 
were  hounding  them  past  Lake  Biwa  and  through  the  central  mountains. 


178  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

Then  it  was  that  the  devoted  mother  made  that  supremely  romantic 
sacrifice  of  Japanese  history:  of  diverting  Kiyomori’s  attention  from  her 
fleeing  boys  by  offering  herself  as  a mistress  to  her  husband’s  slayer. 
The  ruse  succeeded,  and  Yoritomo,  with  his  younger  brother,  spent 
the  twenty  years  of  Taira  domination  in  their  family  fastness  of  the 
far  North,  nerving  to  extraordinary  deeds  their  young  arms  and  souls 
and  consolidating  and  replenishing  the  scattered  wealth  and  power  of 
their  once  conquering  clan.  There  were  Tairas  who  foresaw  what  was 
coming  and  tried  to  prepare  for  it.  But  the  majority  of  them  were 
given  over  to  the  luxuries  of  the  day  and  minimized  the  danger  of 
attack  from  so  remote  and  barbarous  a region. 

There  is  no  space  for  me  here  more  than  to  hint  at  the  amazing 
series  of  terrible  events  which  convulsed  now  not  only  Kioto  but 
the  whole  of  Japan,  between  1180  and  1192.  The  Hogen  Heiji 
war  had  been  child’s  play  to  it.  It  was  now  civil  war  on  a national 
scale,  waged  in  unheard-of  bitterness,  and  for  enormous  stakes  that 
were  now  fairly  estimated  by  both  contestants.  It  was  playing  not 
only  for  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  hopelessly  lost  Fujiwara,  but 
for  a new  Imperial  organization  ; a contrast  between  the  ancient  West 
and  the  newly  arisen  East  : between  Chinese  city  institutions  and  the 

purely  Japanese  feudal  life  of  the  camps;  between  prescribed  ceremony  and 
priestly  formula  and  the  rude  individuality  of  the  sword-wielders ; between 
town  and  village  ; between  the  reign  of  law  and  the  reign  of  life.  Yoritomo 
founded  his  new  capital  of  the  North  East  at  Kamakura,  on  Suruga 
Bay,  not  far  from  the  base  of  Fujiyama,  from  which  he  could  direct 
naval  operations,  as  well  as  the  Hakone  military  road  it  commanded. 
His  brilliant  brother  Yoshitsune,  and  his  uncle  executed  a rapid 
series  of  campaigns  which  eventually  gave  them  Kioto.  The  Tairas 
retired  in  hasty  caparison  to  their  great  sea-stronghold  near  the 
present  Kobe — where  a great  naval  action  was  fought  between  thousands 
of  warships.  The  Tairas  fled  farther  South  toward  Shimonoseki,  taking 
with  them  their  boy  Emperor,  the  grandson  of  Kiyomori.  In  1184  the 

Minamoto  put  up  their  faction  Emperor,  Gotoba,  at  Kioto  ; and 

following  the  enemy  defeated  them  in  a second  Japanese  Actium  in 
the  Straits  of  Shimonoseki.  It  is  all  a stupendous  tragedy  of  most 
picturesque  setting  and  chivalrous  incident,  an  epic  indeed  of  richer  scope 
and  significance  than  Agamemnon  at  Ilium,  and  which  has  also  yielded 

rich  story  for  native  prose,  verse  and  drama.  Then  came  Yoritomo’s 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  179 

unfortunate  jealousy  of  his  young  brother  Yoshitsune — idol  of  the 
Minamoto-ed  nation — his  murder  in  1189;  Yoritomo’s  crafty  scheme 
of  reorganization  on  the  basis  of  a Minamoto  adherent  as  local  lord  in 
every  prominent  capital,  surrounded  with  a camp  of  Minamoto  soldiers, 
1175;  the  supplanting  of  Kioto  as  administrative  capital  by  Kamakura; 
the  investiture  of  Yoritomo  by  the  Emperor  with  the  title  “ Seitai 
Shogun,”  1192 — a thing  that  meant  perhaps  little  to  the  Emperor,  but 
everything  to  Yoritomo  and  his  successors  for  seven  hundred  years. 
For  though  military  and  provincial  in  form,  it  now  meant,  if  not  source 
of  authority,  totality  of  executive  power  in  fact.  The  poor  old  Emperor 
signed  away  with  that  name,  if  not  his  birth-right,  at  least  the  whole 
revenue  and  prestige  of  his  court.  The  palace  became  a barren  prison, 
where  Imperial  relatives  and  decayed  Fujiwaras  still  received  pretentious 
Chinese  credentials  of  ministry,  but  quite  devoid  of  function.  It  is  to 
these  shorn  courts,  rather  than  to  Yoritomo’s  new  one,  that  the  artists 
of  the  Tosa  school  became  attached  as  underfed  court  painters.  Kama- 
kura was  never  a seat  of  high  culture,  producing  but  few  noted  authors 
or  artists,  though  it  often  availed  itself  of  Kioto  talent.  The  real 
power  in  the  state,  nevertheless,  was  feudal  ; and  it  is  this  innovation 
of  a full-fledged  feudal  system,  the  work  of  Yoritomo,  that  from  now 
on  conditions  life  in  Japan,  even  the  life  and  motives  and  names  of 
the  Tosa  artists  at  the  Mikado’s  court. 

It  is  worth  while  here  to  stop  and  describe  at  length  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  this  first  form  of  the  feudal  system,  because  they  so 
strongly  reflect  themselves  in  contemporary  art.  In  the  first  place  it 
must  be  remembered  that  Japan  had  been  practically  cut  off  from 
China  since  the  fall  of  Northern  Sung  to  the  Tartar  Kins  in 
1127.  Its  relations  with  Sung  had  never  been  as  close  as 
with  Tang.  But  with  Tartars  in  the  North,  and  the  Southern 
Sung  hardly  able  to  hold  their  own  against  both  Kin  and 
Mongols,  the  Chinese  were  as  little  likely  to  renew  the  intercourse 
as  were  the  Japanese.  The  feudal  system  was  to  be  a purely  insular 
institution,  owing  nothing  to  continental  inspiration.  And  after  1280, 
when  the  Southern  Sung  also  fell  before  the  Mongols  and  China  became 
ruled  by  a Tartar  Emperor,  indifference  was  succeeded  by  open  hostility. 
Thus  Japan  was  left  to  reorganize  herself  as  best  she  might  with  native 
material.  Yoritomo  had  begun  the  parcelling  out  of  the  North  as  military 
fiefs  to  his  captains  as  early  as  1175;  this  he  now  extended  to  the  whole 


1 80  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

country.  Castled  towns  arose  in  a hundred  central  districts.  All  men 
with  hopes  and  ambitions  wished  to  range  themselves  under  some  local 
leader.  The  peasants  tilled  the  land  on  rental  ; all  trace  of  the  Taihorio 
laws  had  vanished.  Society  tended  to  disperse  to  the  provinces,  or  to 
Kamakura,  leaving  Kioto  half  deserted. 

Plere  came  in  a reaction  in  architecture.  Citadels  arose  with  bases  of 
faced  stones  and  towered  superstructures  of  heavy  beams  and  plaster. 
Within  the  large  enclosures  stood  residences  for  the  daimyo  families 
and  storehouses  for  munitions  of  war.  This  feudal  architecture  of  the 
castles  is  partly  based  upon  the  style  of  circumvallation  of  Chinese  cities, 
and  is  not  unlike  the  famous  Thibetan  Potala  of  Lhassa. 

For  private  law  society  fell  back  upon  the  unwritten  rules  of  the 
primitive  village  organisation,  with  its  head-man,  and  its  germ  of  a town 
council,  and  the  rough  recognition  of  ordinary  human  justice.  It  was  this 
preservation  of  waning  forms  that  the  modern  codifiers  of  1890  seized 
upon  in  order  to  make  an  important  factor  of  purely  native  institutions. 

A profound  reaction  took  place  upon  Japanese  character  also.  The 
formal,  courtly  manner,  the  deference  to  rank  and  precedent,  the  welcomed 
yokes  of  intellectual  and  of  priestly  sanction,  were  suddenly  replaced  by 
the  bare  physical  and  mental  efficiency  of  a man.  He  who  could  think 
quickly,  and  plan  resourcefully,  and  act  firmly — any  such  might  rise  from 
the  ranks  to  castle  power.  For  these  unstable  social  units  were  pitted 
against  each  other  in  constant  local  strife,  which  a somewhat  loose  allegiance 
to  Kamakura  could  not  wholly  check.  It  was  a day  when  all  pretences 
and  conventions  blew  thin,  and  man’s  worth  for  man — individuality,  that 
is — came  out  into  relief.  Then,  indeed,  was  laid  that  foundation  of 
Japanese  quickness  and  adaptability  which  has  amazed  the  world  in  their 
recent  struggle  with  Russia.  It  is  just  because  China  has  been  slowly 
throttled  in  the  silken  meshes  of  her  own  culture,  which  Japan  has  for 
seven  hundred  years  been  cutting  her  way  through  to  freedom,  that  the 
two  races  to-day  invite  such  strange  contrast. 

It  is  this  flashing  of  vivid  personality  lighting  up  the 
Kamakura  annals  that  makes  this  disintegrating  epoch  so  absorbing 
in  interest.  European  writers  in  general  have  spoken  of  it  as  a sad 
age  of  anarchy,  superstition,  cruelty  and  ignorance.  And  indeed,  it 
has  many  points  of  analogy  with  the  German  feudal  system  into  which 
Europe  broke  up  with  the  decay  of  the  Carolingian  Empire.  Yet 
it  was  out  of  the  manhood  vigour  of  both,  rather  than  from  a bare 


Cl** 


The  Castle  of  Kumamoto. 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  181 

Imperial  renaissance,  that  the  hope  of  the  future  was  to  spring.  For 
literature  itself  now  becomes  romantic.  Fairy  tales,  and  ogres,  and 
gallant  or  desperate  adventures,  sometimes  even  to  free  oppressed 
ladies,  enter  into  their  crude  novels.  There  is  almost  no  scholarship 
except  at  the  Kioto  court,  and  nobody  cares  for  any.  It  is  a 
striking  confirmation  of  the  dominance  of  this  new  state  of  individuality 
that  just  here,  in  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century,  begins  to 
arise  a native  and  secular  drama — and  that,  too,  a comedy  (Kiogen)  — 
out  of  the  buffoonery  of  farmers  at  village  festivals.  This  was  taken 
up  by  the  new  nobility,  and  even  by  the  priests  of  the  Shinto 
temples,  and  erected  into  organizations  of  professionals  who  acted  on 
permanent  stages.  For  in  all  forms  of  literature,  as  in  life,  it  was 
now  life  itself — man  himself — who  became  of  interest  to  all  classes  of 
man.  The  subjects  of  romances  were  no  longer  the  languorous 
ecstacies  of  silken  lords  and  ladies,  as  in  the  Fujiwara  “ Monogatari,” 
but  often  the  triviality  and  even  the  ribaldry  of  common  life.  This 
is  the  real  root  of  what  has  persisted  till  to-day  of  essential 
democracy  in  the  Japanese.  Even  the  recent  Tokugawa  formalism  of 
two  hundred  years  has  passed  over  like  a shadow,  leaving  the  coolie 
as  good  a citizen,  and  a citizen  as  interesting  to  all  classes,  as  he 
was  in  Kamakura  days. 

It  was  natural  that  religion  also  should  feel  the  same  levelling 
personal  impulse.  Just  as  the  palace  labyrinths  and  perfumed 
embroidery  had  been  relegated  to  ash-heaps  and  junk-shops,  so  the 
mystic  ritualism  and  the  papal  insolence  of  the  Tendai  regime  had 
to  yield  to  the  new  demand  of  a simple  faith  for  simple  folk.  The 
Shingon  discipline  of  self-purification  was  too  high,  too  long,  and  too 
inconsequent  for  men  whose  time  was  chiefly  occupied  in  carving  up 
their  enemies.  Like  the  fierce  Spanish  conquistadors,  the  Japanese 
knights  of  helmet  and  mail  wished  to  kneel  with  tears  to  a faith 
that  did  not  require  them  to  think  deeply.  So  it  was  now  that 
three  or  four  great  priests  arose — contemporary  with  St.  Francis  of 
Assisi  in  Italy,  and  with  the  Gothic  churches,  who  went  about 
preaching  simple  faith  to  the  masses — Saigio,  and  Shinran,  and  Nichirin. 
(Saigio  died  1198 — Shinran,  1262 — Nichirin,  1282.)  Then  it  was  that 
the  only  purely  Japanese  sects  of  Buddhism  arose  by  a protestant 
simplifying  of  Tendai,  Shingon  and  Jodo  philosophy  and  ritual.  All 
you  have  to  do  is  to  believe  in  Amida — said  these  newer  creeds, 


1 8 2 EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

and  he  will  save  you.  Belief  itself  — mere  personal  surrender  — is 
the  primary  thing.  Great  masses,  and  complicated  genuflections, 
and  altars  hidden  from  the  people  — all  these  have  not  half  as 
much  efficacy  as  good  hortatory  sermons.  On  this  account  temple 
architecture  became  changed.  In  old  days  services  had  gone  on  in 

the  small  encrusted  sanctuary  whether  a congregation  participated  or 
not.  The  Pantheon  of  gods  needed  constant  pampering ; the  people 

did  not  so  much  matter.  But  now  that  all  gods  but  Amida  were 

thrown  out — Amida  who  would  take  his  faithful  to  live  for  ever  in 
his  own  golden  Paradise — and  that  service  was  directed  to  the  people 
rather  than  to  Heaven,  the  size  of  the  building  had  to  be  vastly  en- 
larged and  the  furnishing  simplified  in  order  to  accommodate  the 

congregation.  Hence  the  great  open,  matted,  many-pillared  front  spaces 
of  the  Honganji  temples  as  we  study  them  to-day.  Monastic  orders, 
too,  of  itinerant  monks  arose  simultaneously  in  Japan  and  Europe — 
mendicant  orders,  who  passed  in  chanting  files  from  castle  to  castle, 
collecting  rice  in  their  black  wooden  alms-bowls  and  carrying  the  news 
of  the  day  and  their  oral  traditions  of  learning  from  house  to  house. 

In  such  a new  world  as  this  it  was  inevitable  that  the  profoundest 
sort  of  reaction  would  seize  upon  visual  art  also.  Individuality  would 
necessarily  be  its  key-note  ; thus  democracy  in  subject,  dramatic  group- 
ing and  the  motions  of  violent  action.  Already  the  germs  of  all  these 
things  had  been  given  form  in  the  early  paintings  of  Fujiwara  Takanobu 
and  of  Toba  Sojo,  who  had  introduced  the  “ makimono,”  or  library 
panorama.  Here  was  room  for  continuous  crowded  scenes  of  street 
pageantry,  of  fairs  and  temple  courts,  horse-races  and  cock-fights,  the 
servants  sweating  and  joking  in  the  kitchen,  councils  of  grey-robed 
monks,  humorously  travestied,  and  every  possible  stage  of  camp-life  and 
active  war.  Art  was  a kind  of  journal,  unprinted,  that  circulated  about 
in  the  Imperial  Court  and  sometimes  found  its  way  into  the  scattered 
courts  of  the  daimyos.  For  the  Emperor  and  his  portfolioless  ministers 
seem  to  have  found  a sort  of  desperate  pleasure  in  watching  the  Saturn- 
alia of  a life  about  them  in  which  they  could  play  no  part.  Rolls  were 
multiplied  of  illustrated  biographies,  often  becoming  the  treasures  of 
temples  whose  priestly  founders  they  celebrated.  The  incipient  prose 
epics  that  were  slowly  maturing  from  the  mists  of  myth  that  hovered 
around  great  deeds  needed  colour  illumination.  In  short,  the  Tosa 
makimono  becomes  a sort  of  Bayeux  tapestry,  with  a meagre  interlude 


Detail  of  the  Hell  Panorama.  By  Nobuzane. 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  183 

of  verbal  explanation.  Yes,  what  Sesostris  sculptured  on  the  rock  tents 
of  Egypt,  and  Nebuchadnezzar  spread  in  glowing  tiles  upon  the  walls  of 
Khosabad,  such  immortalizing  of  local  heroism  did  Keion  and  Mitsunaga 
perpetrate  upon  frail  sheets  of  parchment  paper. 

The  drawing  of  the  art  is  minute  and  vivid.  The  swing  of  action 
is  a primary  requisite,  then  the  sweeping  of  the  lines  of  many  actions 
into  great  general  line-currents  that  give  motion  to  the  crowded 
compositions,  so  unlike  European  Renaissance  battle  pieces — Jules 
Romano’s  for  instance,  whose  horses  and  men  squirm  in  all  directions, 
with  no  unified  transference  of  masses.  This  the  West  finds  only  in 
Greek  art  (the  Battle  of  Darius),  and  recent  French  cavalry  charges 
(Aime  Morot).  But  in  Japan  it  forms  the  backbone  of  the  picture. 
Colour,  too,  realistic  but  not  too  gorgeous,  adds  vividness,  and  its 
spotting  of  light  and  dark  passages  lends  savour  and  accent  even  to 
the  motion.  It  is  an  art  not  at  all  unlike  primitive  Greek  painting, 
especially  as  shown  in  the  figures  of  horses  and  men  in  simple  colour 
and  spotting  upon  Greek  vases.  We  may  assume  that  such  mosaics 
as  the  “ Darius  ” had  finer  antecedents  in  mural  pageants.  The  colour 
is  probably  richer  and  more  varied  in  the  Japanese.  In  form,  too,  we 
might  perhaps  say  that  the  rushing  personages  look  as  if  bombs  had 
been  exploded  under  the  feet  of  figures  on  the  Greek  vases.  Another 
analogue  is  the  contemporary  early  Italian  Gothic  frescoing  of  the 
Giottoesque  school.  In  those  squares,  crowded  with  mounted  officers 
and  spectators  of  crucifixions,  which  fill  the  plastered  arches  of  Assisi 
and  Padua,  we  see  something  like  Tosa  richness  of  grouping,  even  if 
without  Tosa  vividness  of  motion.  If  we  could  have  an  art  that 
would  combine  modern  French  scientific  drawing  of  motion  with  the 
picturesque  crowds  of  Cavalcatori , we  should  strike  somewhere  near 
the  battlepieces  of  Keion  and  the  street  scenes  of  Mitsunaga. 

Perhaps  the  very  richest  period  was  that  which  followed  Yoritomo’s 
triumph,  Kenkiu,  which  lasted  about  ten  years  after  1 1 90.  Then 
probably  Takanobu  still  lived,  and  his  great  son  Fujiwara  Nobuzane 
was  rising  into  notice.  Then,  too,  the  sons  of  Kasuga — Takachika, 
Mitsunaga  and  Keion — were  coming  to  ripe  age.  These  three  may  be 
said  to  form  the  second  and  greatest  generation  of  the  Tosa  artists. 
I use  the  word  Tosa  here  only  in  an  inaccurate  generic  sense,  because 
the  name  was  not  actually  given  to  the  school  until  somewhat  later, 
with  the  son  of  Mitsunaga,  Tsunetaka.  The  Kasuga  family  then 


1 84  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

became  the  Tosa  family  without  discontinuity.  I ought  to  say  that 
in  these  relationships  I follow  mainly  the  recension  of  genealogies 
which  has  passed  current  in  the  Sumiyoshi  branch  of  the  modern 
Tosa.  Some  of  the  younger  Japanese  scholars  are  disposed  to  throw 

all  such  traditions  to  the  winds  : to  declare  that  we  do  not  know 

whether  Nobuzane  ever  lived  or  was  a painter,  or  whether  Mitsunaga 
had  anything  to  do  with  Takachika,  or  was  the  brother  of  Keion. 

But  all  such  disputations  must  be  at  this  stage  of  the  game  rather 

of  an  academic  interest  to  a few  Japanese  scholars  than  of  service 
to  the  world.  For,  after  all,  whether  their  names  were  Nobuzane  or 
Mitsunaga,  or  Henrique  or  Brooks,  their  works  remain — to  study,  and 
delight  in,  and  classify,  and  use  as  the  mirror  of  a rapidly  gliding 
history.  Until  the  extreme  school  can  give  us  something  more  positive 
than  denials,  it  will  be  the  safest  guardedly  to  follow  the  Tokugawa 
scholarship  of  the  Sumiyoshis  who  prepared  these  lists  for  the  use  of 
the  Shogun’s  court.  Especially  is  it  well  to  follow  their  canons  of 
criticism  and  ascriptions  of  remaining  examples,  since  it  is  these  which 
have  practically  determined  the  labelling  of  all  the  modern  re-collections 
of  Japan.  Most  pieces  have  changed  hands,  from  house  to  house  and 
from  temple  to  house,  since  1868  ; and  since  Sumiyoshi  Hirokata’s  death 
these  have  been  mostly  identified,  according  to  his  traditions,  by  his 
fellow-pupil  with  myself,  Yamana  Kwangi.  It  is  Yamana’s  certificates 
that  are  found  to-day  with  Buddhist  and  Tosa  pieces  in  all  Japanese 
collections,  and  attached  to  much  that  has  recently  come  in  to  Europe  and 
America.  It  is  proper  to  say  that  my  own  expert  attribution  of  pieces, 
whether  of  those  in  the  Boston  collections,  or  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Freer 
and  others,  has  been  made  along  identical  lines  with  Yamana’s,  and 
that  most  of  the  pieces  in  the  Fenollosa  collection  at  Boston  passed 
under  Hirokata’s  own  criticism  before  1885.  There  may  exist  other 
schools  of  Tosa  criticism,  but  none,  I think,  with  such  claim  to  authority. 

Of  the  three  greatest  men  I shall  take  Nobuzane  first,  though  perhaps 
the  youngest,  because  his  style  is  most  individual.  In  his  makimonos, 
kept  at  Kozanji,  and  representing  the  transmission  of  the  Kegon  doctrine 
from  China  through  Korea  to  Japan,  he  comes  nearest  to  the  style  of  Toba 
Sojo.  The  design  is  solely  in  black-and-white,  and  relies  chiefly  on  a 
light,  nervous,  flowing  line.  A great  storm-dragon  pursues  the  ship  of  the 
commissioner.  The  waves  are  beaten  flat,  and  lightning  shoots  in  key-like 
forms.  The  type  of  the  dragon  remains  essentially  Tang,  in  spite  of  the 


Detail  from  Kitano  Tenjin  Engi. 

By  Nobuzane. 


Detail  from  Kitano  Tenjin  Engl  By  Nobuzane. 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  185 

Japanese  brushwork.  One  of  the  finest  passages  is  a scene  in  China  where 
boatmen  land  on  a shore,  and  porters,  themselves  laden,  drive  on  over- 
laden bulls  and  horses.  There  is  nothing  so  pathetically  real  in  rustic  art, 
except  Millet’s  peasants.  Here,  however,  is  also  a touch  of  humour, 
which  Millet  always  lacks. 

Another  of  Nobuzane’s  greatest  sources  of  fame  was  his  portraits. 
A Fujiwara  by  birth,  he  knew  all  the  members  of  the  fallen  generation, 
and  has  left  us  most  interesting  sketches  of  their  individual  faces.  He 
also  has  left  the  best  ideal  portraits  of  the  thirty-six  chief  poets  of  the 
vanished  age.  That  he  made  light  of  his  own  misfortunes  is  seen  in  his 
humorous  painting  of  a social  gathering  in  an  old  battered  hut,  where 
he,  as  host,  with  companions  dressed  in  homespun,  drink  and  dance  away 
their  sorrows.  A servant  bearing  a jug  of  wine  breaks  through  the 
rotting  floor. 

But  the  greatest  work  of  Nobuzane  in  makimono  form,  if  not  the 
greatest  of  the  whole  Tosa  school,  is  his  long  panoramic  account,  in  nine 
wide  scrolls,  of  the  life  of  Michizane,  the  learned  anti-Fujiwara  minister 
of  Engi.  These  are  worked  out  in  a kind  of  demonaic  line,  so 
powerful  and  individual  that  the  drawing  at  times  seems  childishly 
distorted,  as  in  Whistler’s  roughest  work.  Yet  the  effect  is  most  intense  ; 
I have  sat  before  these  stupendous  rolls  again  and  again,  with  the  flesh  of 
my  back  creeping  as  during  a Wagner  opera  and  tears  standing  in  my  eyes. 
The  physical  and  spiritual  excitement  of  it  is  greater  than  of  any  work  I 
know.  Yet  much  of  this  supreme  effect  is  lost  in  the  photographs,  since 
it  is  also  the  unique  colouring  that  helps  to  produce  the  charm.  It  may 
be  said  that  the  tones,  though  ranging  through  all  shades  of  dull  pinks, 
mauves  and  olives,  are  in  the  main  a terrific  contrast  of  luminous  oranges 
against  blues  so  dark  that  they  seem  actually  blacker  than  black.  This 
depth  is  got  by  scumbling  powdered  ultramarine  over  glossy  inks.  Of  all 
impressionistic  work  in  the  line  of  story-telling  this  is  the  world’s  greatest. 

And  it  tells  a story,  indeed,  which  realizes  Fujiwara  tragedy  with  an 
intensity  wholly  Kamakuran.  Michizane  was  born  and  brought  up  to 
archery  and  letters  and  music,  like  any  proud  child  ; we  are  shown  it 
all  in  the  first  roll.  Then  comes  a long  procession  of  nobles  in  litters 
or  on  horseback  passing  to  a temple  to  celebrate  his  coming  of  manhood. 
Nobuzane  takes  this  occasion  to  make  his  horses  leap  and  prance  as 
no  European  but  Rubens  has  ever  conceived.  The  finest  prancing 
horse  is  spotted  in  chocolate  and  cream,  with  scarlet  trappings.  In  the 

VOL.  1.  p 


1 86  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

monastery  yard  we  are  treated  to  a genre  scene  which  recalls  the  money- 
changers and  hucksters  in  Solomon’s  temple.  It  is  true  that  at  the 
far  end,  on  the  broad  verandah,  sit  a fine  group  of  lacquer-hatted 
gentlemen  and  veiled  ladies  in  every  tone  of  soft  garment,  from  creamed 
grape-juice  to  amethyst,  who  decorously  listen  to  the  old  priest  droning 
away  at  his  beads  under  the  latticed  awning.  Every  figure  is  indivi- 
dualized in  pose  and  turn  of  head.  But  down  below,  in  the  yard,  we 

have  a motley  group  of  servants,  small  boys,  acolytes  and  nuns,  who 
are  eyeing  the  crowd  or  joking  with  each  other.  The  small  boy 
leaning  on  a pile  of  hats  is  a strong  bit  of  drawing.  Bales  of  cotton 
under  a gorgeous  tarpaulin  typify  offerings.  The  singular  hooded 

priests  from  Hiyei-zan  stand  back  in  a group.  Behind  all  is  a richly 
comic  passage  where  the  younger  priests,  kneeling  in  white  robes, 
expostulate  with  shocked  gestures  to  three  drunken  samurai  in  loose 
undress  of  delicious  pattern  who  are  desecrating  the  sanctuary  with 
their  ribaldry.  One  tucks  up  his  spotted  skirt  as  if  to  fight  the 

acolytes,  but  a companion  grasps  him  about  the  waist.  Clearly 

Nobuzane  has  here  given  us  not  at  all  a picture  of  the  sedate  days  of 
Sugawara,  but  a contemporary  sketch  pulsing  with  precious  details  of 
a devil-may-care  life. 

In  a second  roll  follow  the  long  scenes  of  conflict  between  Michizane 
and  his  enemies,  the  blindness  of  the  Emperor,  who  is  warned  by  a 
magnificent  thunder-storm  with  sulphurous  fumes  and  gold  lightning 
that  shivers  the  palace  and  bowls  over  the  crimson  lacqueys  like  so 
many  leaded  dolls.  The  Hiyei-zan  pope,  too,  crosses  the  Southern 
Kamo  by  a Red  Sea  miracle  of  rolling  back  its  waters,  while  his  bull- 
chariot  dashes  through  the  bed  with  wheels  whose  spokes  are  a blur. 
Naught  avails,  however,  and  Michizane  is  banished  to  a desolate  Southern 
island.  Groups  of  curious  peasants  follow  his  chariot  through  the 
mountains.  Motley  crowds  rush  to  the  shore  to  see  him  washed  to  land 
from  a shipwreck.  It  is  all  pure  provocative  for  Nobuzane’s  exuberance 
of  genre  ; yet  the  dramatic  sting  is  never  lacking.  There  in  his  island 
he  occupies  for  some  years  a rotten  hut.  Friends  visit  him  surreptitiously, 
but  he  refuses  to  return  against  his  Emperor’s  order.  Rank  unhealthy 
vines  keep  damp  the  leaking  roof,  the  garden  is  an  impressionistic  tangle 
of  wild  shrubs  in  orange  and  green.  At  length  the  premonitory  old 
man  climbs  a peak  and  protests  his  innocence  to  the  god  of  storms, 
who  snatches  a last  written  message  to  the  Emperor  in  order  to  convey 


Detail  of  Scene  at  Temple  Steps. 
Nobuzane. 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  187 

it  miraculously  to  the  Kioto  palace  even  while  he  smites  the  petitioner 
with  death. 

Michizane’s  body  is  being  slowly  carried  back  to  Kioto  in  a cart 
when  the  belaboured  bull  which  draws  it  sinks  and  dies.  On  the  very 
spot  the  attendants  dig  his  grave  with  the  butt-ends  of  their  spears. 
A dog  scratches  his  chin  with  his  hind  leg.  Michizane  is  soon  declared 
to  be  the  god  Tenjin,  and  the  Shinto  shrine  of  Kitano  is  erected  to  his 
memory  on  the  Northern  outskirts  of  Kioto  ; for  which  shrine  these 
very  precious  rolls  were  painted,  and  where  they  are  still  kept.  The 
marble  bull  which  fell  is  here  and  in  other  Tenjin  shrines,  as  Kameido 
in  Tokio,  visible  as  a sacred  symbol. 

You  might  think  this  to  be  a fair  end  for  the  legend ; not  so 
Nobuzane.  His  blood  is  just  up,  his  opportunity  is  just  coming,  he 
has  half  his  work  yet  to  create.  For  should  not  the  wicked  enemy 
of  Michizane  who  procured  his  banishment  be  punished  both  on 
earth  and  in  Hell  ? On  earth  he  is  affected  with  a distress  that 
causes  snakes  to  creep  from  his  ears.  But  Hell  ! ah,  what  could  be 
a more  deliciously  opportune  morsel  for  a painter’s  imagination  ? 
He  gets  at  it  by  degrees.  We  see  Fujiwara  Tokihira’s  spirit  carried 
oward  Hell  by  devils.  We  see  great  scarlet  flames  escaping  through 
the  gates.  Then  come  four  long  splendid  horrible  rolls  of  torture.  If 
Nobuzane  were  Okio,  as  in  the  latter’s  Miidera  tortures,  we  could  not 
bear  him.  But  the  horror  is  magnificently  offset  both  by  the  humour 
and  by  the  colour — something  as  an  infusion  of  soda  keeps  tomato 
acid  from  curdling  milk.  It  is  useless  to  describe  it.  Orcagna  at 
Santa  Maria  Novella  is  a fool  to  it.  Nobuzane  could  give  him  a 
hundred  years  handicap  and  win.  Flames  of  crimson,  scarlet  and 
orange  shoot  all  over  the  place  in  interlaced  and  forked  serpent- 
tongues.  Jolly,  barbarous  devils  with  cat  faces  pursue  their  nefarious 
calling  of  dragging  wicked  ladies  by  the  hair  ; roasting  a bishop  or  two 
half  strangled  in  a Chinese  cangue  ; sawing  slabs  of  flesh  with  rusty 
blades  from  men  who  have  been  marked  with  a taut,  inked  carpenter’s 
string  ; pouring  red  hot  lead  down  their  wretched  throats  ; nailing 
their  distended  tongues  to  the  floor  and  forcing  poisonous  insects  to 
crawl  upon  them  ; or  stirring  gallons  of  human  broth  in  copper 
cauldrons.  One  delightful  green  fiend,  front  face  on,  possessing  a 
single  cream  coloured  horn,  holds  a human  victim  head  down  in  his 
two  hands,  and  gradually  tears  the  body  apart.  This  might  do  for 

p 2 


1 88  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

a starter,  but  Nobuzane  has  far  deeper  game  in  view,  no  less  a 
scheme  than  to  picture  all  the  various  worlds  of  suffering  and  passion, 
cognate  with  Hell,  through  which  souls,  even  those  of  deva,  must 
learn  to  pass.  But  he  never  finished  the  stupendous  work.  His 
brush  fell  in  death  as  he  sketched  an  outline  passage  whose  inhibited 
colour  no  human  soul  can  ever  conceive. 

The  second  of  our  Yoritomo  geniuses  is  Kasuga  Mitsunaga,  the 
reputed  son  (but  possibly  grandson)  of  that  same  Takachika  who  drew 
faineant  courtiers  with  line  so  fine  that  it  simply  vanished  without 
your  knowing  where.  But  Mitsunaga,  like  a true  founder  of  the  new 
art,  thickened  his  passionate  line  nearly  to  the  quality  of  Toba  Sojo’s, 
and  then  filled  its  gaps  with  colour  on  a scale  as  different  from 
Nobuzane’s  as  Venus  from  Mars.  His  line  riots  in  massed  street 
fights,  and  runaway  chariots,  and  conflagations  that  hurl  brands  over 
crazy  crowds.  The  paper  seems  about  to  tear  itself  to  pieces  with 
the  opposed  lines  of  surging.  His  colour  scheme  is  passages  of 
lemon  yellow  shading  into  orange,  spotted  with  patterns  of  light  blue 
and  deep  pink  and  thrown  against  darks  of  mixed  olives  and  crimsons. 
This  is  the  real  Tosa  scale  of  early  Kamakura,  and  it  is  unlike  any  other 
colour  passages  of  the  world’s  art  with  which  I am  acquainted  ; Fortuny 
and  Monticelli  at  their  gayest  giving  just  a hint  of  it. 

Mitsunaga’s  greatest  work  was  the  “ Nenchiu  Giogi,”  a sort  of 
pictorial  diary  in  sixty  rolls  that  narrated  all  the  striking  scenes  of 
Kioto  life  from  January  to  December.  Some  twenty  rolls  of  this 
remained  in  the  Imperial  Treasury,  and  were  brought  to  Tokio  in 
1868  ; but  were  burned  in  a palace  fire  a few  years  later.  The 
Sumiyoshi  had  carefully  coloured  copies  of  some  of  these.  1 
succeeded  in  obtaining  for  my  collection,  now  in  Boston,  a set  of 
outline  copies  made  from  them  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago 
by  Sumiyoshi  Jokei,  the  founder  of  the  branch  line  that  located 
with  the  Shogun  at  Yedo.  The  runaway  chariot  is  found  from 
these,  also  the  guards  waving  torches  at  night  while  the  fat  gentle- 
men sup  under  a shed,  also  the  great  cock-fight  where  men  throw 
up  their  hats  and  knock  small  boys  down  in  their  excitement.  Of 

the  minor  works  of  Mitsunaga,  we  have  a fragment  of  Hell,  and 
two  rolls  of  the  visit  of  Abe  no  Nakamaro  to  China.  This  latter 
makes  a humorous  contrast  of  Japanese  and  Chinese  customs.  There 
are  some  genre  scenes,  of  which  one  of  the  best  is  a contemporary 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  189 

surgical  operation,  where  a squatting  gentleman  doctor  calmly  punctures, 
while  a priest  sits  by  and  watches  with  eager  horror. 

But  perhaps  the  finest  coloured  rolls  of  which  the  original  remains 
are  the  scenes  of  “ The  Burning  of  the  Gate.”  The  people  in  the 
street  stop,  drop  their  loads  and  begin  to  run  as  they  hear  the  fire- 
bells.  Mounted  policemen  waving  metal  sticks  dash  up  from  behind. 
The  flames  drive  back  the  yellow,  green  and  milk-blue  crowds  who 
save  the  singeing  of  their  brows  with  uplifted  sleeves.  Then  comes  a 
humorous  procession  of  mounted  knights  in  armour  and  holding 
folded  banners,  which  out-does  Dora’s  Don  Quixote.  Their  ill-fed, 
knock-kneed  horses  are  veritable  Rosinantes,  and  the  affected  gallantry 
with  which  the  horsemen  rival  each  ocher  in  holding  their  banners  is 
wit  straight  from  Cervantes. 

We  come  now  to  Mitsunaga’s  younger  brother,  who  took  the 
priestly  name  Sumiyoshi  Keion.  In  some  respects  he  was  the  greatest 
of  the  three,  the  greatest  draughtsman  certainly.  He  had  little  of 
the  humour  of  Toba  Sojo  and  the  others,  and  his  colour  is  more 
commonplace,  relying  more  on  good  straightforward  reds  and  blues 
and  greens.  But  his  notan,  that  is  his  dark  and  light  “spotting,”  is 
even  more  effective  than  theirs.  He  is  no  such  impressionist  as 
Nobuzane ; he  is  more  sane  and  business-like.  But  in  his  stupendous 
massing  of  crowded  line  into  totality  of  motion  there  is  no  one 
who  approaches  him.  His  subjects,  too,  lend  themselves  to  such 
treatment.  For,  above  all  others,  he  is  the  greatest  painter  of  battle- 
pieces — the  central  deeds  of  violence  in  all  Japan’s  military  history,  the 
mighty  struggle  out  of  whose  tearing  asunder  his  own  and  his 
contemporaries’  individuality  arose  on  light  wing.  Probably  he  saw  in 
his  youth  the  Hogen  Heiji  horror;  knew  Yoshitsune  by  sight,  and 
witnessed  Kiyomori’s  triumph ; watched  Yoritomo  grow  to  manhood, 
and  may  have  been  in  Yoshitsune’s  train  when  the  fortress  at  Dan 
No  Ura  went  up  in  flames.  At  any  rate  the  grim,  determined  spirit 
of  the  day  is  his — not  so  much  its  roystering  fun,  but  its  keenness, 
cruelty  and  impersonality.  Photographs  of  the  Russo-Japanese  war 
give  no  such  vivid  idea  as  he  does  of  the  Japanese  military  soul.  If 
we  compare  his  charges  and  ambuscades  and  cautious  marches  of 
crowded  men  and  horses  with  the  battle  pieces  of  European  masters, 
it  is  only  the  ancient  Greek  and  the  most  recent  French  who  can 
approach  him  in  reality  of  motion. 

p 3 


190  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

Keion  has  left  us  an  interesting  makimono  of  a religious  subject 
treated  with  secular  frankness.  It  is  all  part  of  a human  story,  in 

which  Amida  himself  and  his  music-loving  Bhodisattwa  sweep  through  a 
regular  Tosa  landscape  to  their  act  of  blessing.  They  are  no 
longer  the  hieratic  figures  of  altar-pieces,  not  shining  in  unhuman 
gold  but  drifting  over  the  water  like  graceful  floating  clouds.  Single 
figure  pieces,  as  of  a mounted  warrior  in  full  armour  turning  in  his 
saddle  and  looking  backward — seen  in  fact  from  behind  so  that  the 
head  of  his  rearing  horse  is  hidden  behind  his  body — are  found  in 
either  originals  or  copies.  One  of  the  most  splendid  small  groups  is 
copied  upon  a fan  by  no  less  an  artist  of  later  date  than  Honnami 
Koyetsu.  We  shall  speak  of  this  again  in  Chapter  XIV.  There  is 
no  record  as  to  whether  it  really  is  a copy,  or  an  original  compo- 
sition in  the  style  of  Keion.  If  the  latter  it  is  a most  astounding 

revival,  lor  no  such  drawing  of  soldiers  exists  in  the  four  hundred 

years  between  Keion  and  Koyetsu.  Koyetsu  studied  the  great  Tosa 

masters,  especially  Nobuzane  and  Keion,  with  great  care,  and  I am 

inclined  to  believe  this  at  least  a free  transcript  from  some  lost  Keion. 

It  represents  the  capture  of  an  armoured  courier  by  five  foot  soldiers 
of  his  enemy — a sort  of  Major  Andre  scene,  in  which  the  dismounted 
suspect  seems  to  be  trying  to  swallow  his  dispatches.  The  splendidly 
drawn  horse  is  being  held  down  by  three  of  the  soldiers,  who,  with 
their  strong  contrasts  of  white  and  black,  make  an  unusually  close 
and  unconventional  composition.  The  lines  and  mass  of  the  horse 
and  the  three  men  are  all  tangled  together.  The  brutal  excitement 
of  the  faces  is  powerfully  rendered. 

The  greatest  remaining  secular  work  of  Keion  is  his  panorama  in 
three  long  rolls  of  scenes  in  the  Hogan  Heiji  war.  These  three  have 
been  held  in  separate  possession  since  early  Tokugawa  days.  The 

two  that  are  still  in  Japan  in  private  hands  are  very  interesting.  In 
one  there  are  vast  stretches  of  mountain  and  forest,  through  which 
wander  figures  in  small  groups.  In  one  place  they  fall  upon  the 
corpse  of  a warrior,  who  is  lying,  feet  toward  the  bottom  of  the  pic- 
ture, with  his  throat  cut.  This  is  well-nigh  the  only  striking  piece 
of  fore-shortened  drawing  in  all  Chinese  and  Japanese  art.  This 
would  have  delighted  the  late  Dr.  Anderson,  of  London,  who  seems 
to  have  thought  that  Tosa  drawing  is  too  childish  to  merit  the  name 
of  art.  In  the  second  roll  we  see  a squadron  of  cavalry  advancing 


Buddha  descending  through  Clouds. 
From  the  Taima  Mandara,  Keion. 


Buddha  descending  through  Clouds. 
From  the  Taima  Mandara,  Keion. 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  191 

slowly  between  two  lines  of  bull-chariots.  The  action  of  the  leader 
on  the  black  horse,  with  proud,  arching  neck,  is  very  fine. 

But  it  is  the  third  roll  which  reaches  the  full  height  of  Keion’s 
powers  in  military  delineation.  This  was  formerly  in  the  possession 
of  the  Honda  family,  and  I had  the  privilege  of  studying  it  and 
photographing  it  more  than  once  on  the  occasions  of  the  loan  collec- 
tions of  daimyos’  treasures  held  by  the  Art  Club  annually  since  1882. 
I hardly  thought  then  that  some  day  this  supreme  work  would  fall 
into  my  own  possession.  The  overcoming  of  the  difficulties  in  its 
acquirement  would  form  a romance  in  itself.  It  is  undoubtedly  the 
greatest  treasure  of  the  thousand  or  more  pictorial  masterpieces  which, 
under  the  name  of  the  “ Fenollosa  Collection,”  I contributed,  through 
Dr.  Weld,  to  the  Boston  Art  Museum  in  1886.  It  was  carefully 
photographed  several  times  during  my  administration  as  curator  of  the 
museum  (1890-1896),  and  had  recently  been  photographed  again,  very 
beautifully,  for  the  museum. 

The  roll  opens  (from  the  right,  of  course)  with  the  terrified  flight 
of  a court  party,  few  of  whom  have  had  time  to  don  their  armour. 
Gentlemen  on  horseback  are  racing  for  dear  life,  trampling  down 
citizens  and  grooms.  In  front  of  them  whirls  a group  of  chariots 
drawn  by  bullocks.  The  wheels  whizz  like  electric  fans.  One  of  the 
chariots,  surrounded  by  archers  in  lacquered  caps,  has  its  course  blocked. 
In  the  confusion  one  of  the  bulls  has  turned  upon  the  struggling  mass 
and  his  rocking  chariot  crashes  over  prostrate  crowds.  In  this  part  of 
the  continuous  composition  the  prevailing  horizontal  lines  of  the  general 
rush  are  broken  chiefly  by  the  angular  course  of  this  runav/ay.  Every 
attitude  of  horse  and  man,  every  clearly  drawn  face,  is  tense  with  fear 
and  wild  energy.  Here  we  see  such  individual  types  as  are  familiar 
to-day  on  the  streets  of  Tokio.  I could  almost  venture  to  assign 
some  of  the  family  names.  The  composition  is  so  close  that  one  can 
scarcely  catch  a glimpse  of  the  ground  through  tiie  swarming  bodies. 
There  is  no  scenic  display  as  in  the  Morot  accessories  at  Versailles. 
It  is  rather  like  the  Alexander  mosaic  at  Naples,  in  which  the  prevailing 
lines  of  the  moving  figures  tell  the  whole  pictorial  story.  Caps  and 
heads  and  chariot  roofs  appear  over  the  lower  edge  of  the  picture,  a 
vivid  arrangement  under  a down-looking  perspective,  incomprehensible 
to  ancients  and  Italians,  and  seen  only  in  modern  French  impressionism, 
such  as  Degas’  jockeys.  A moment  more  and  the  mad  mass  turns  a 


i92  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

corner,  dashing  down  almost  front  on  to  the  spectator,  as  we  see 
reality  in  modern  moving  pictures.  This  powerful  transition  of  angles 
is  aided  by  the  long  dark  shafts  of  the  chariots  and  the  tilt  of  chariot 
awnings.  The  variety  of  line  and  notan  passage  is  here  infinite,  crammed 
at  every  part  with  startling  new  feeling  and  beauty,  a torrent  of 
torrents,  a spotted  mosaic  whose  apparent  confusion  is  subordinate  to 
clear  keys. 

The  device  of  a garden  wall  divides  this  passage  of  the  flight  from 
a scene  where  an  ancient  palace  is  burning.  The  flames — of  orange, 
yellow  and  red — play  up  in  splendid  writhing  curves  into  clouds  of 

brown  and  blue  smoke.  How  unlike  are  these  rounded  tongues  to 

the  forked  scarlet  sword-blades  of  Nobuzane’s  fires  ! It  is  as  if  we  had 
here  an  instantaneous  “ snap-shot  ” at  a conflagration.  Soldiers  in 

armour  with  gloved  hands  are  butchering  the  fugitives  and  peering 
to  discover  some  who  may  have  hidden  under  the  already  smoking 
verandahs.  There  in  the  court-yard  a shouting,  twisting  guard  of 

mounted  knights  darts  back  and  forth,  finely  displaying  the  action  of 

their  little  stocky  short-necked  horses — for  all  the  world  like  the  prancing 
steeds  of  Phidias’  Pan-Athenaic  frieze. 

After  this  the  warriors,  crazed  with  blood  and  fire,  pass  off  to  fresh 
exploits  : hideous  armoured  footmen  with  faces  stained  like  berserkers, 
bearing  a coronet  of  dissevered  heads  upon  their  pikes.  The  muscles 
of  their  naked  legs  stand  out  in  knots. 

Lastly  we  have  a mixed  group  of  Fujiwara  unarmed  courtiers  and 
their  convoying  squadrons  of  troops.  A chariot,  presumably  of  their 
own  Emperor,  is  borne  in  their  midst.  The  splendid  mosaic  of  more 
than  a hundred  figures  moves  with  a slow,  restrained  march,  the  grooms 
tugging  at  the  heads  of  impatient  horses.  The  bow-men  are  all  now  in 
front,  some  with  arrows  fixed  on  the  strings.  There  is  evidently  nervous 
suspicion  of  an  ambush.  The  front  of  this  fine  procession  tapers  off 
like  a cadence  in  music.  A general  holds  in  a prancing  white  horse 
with  taut  rein  ; then  come  two  staccato  notes  of  foot-soldiers  walking 
abreast  ; then  an  isolated  captain  far  in  advance,  upon  a fine  black 
charger  which  rears  in  fright,  as  if  he  sensed  an  enemy  hidden  in  the 
grass  beyond  ; then  one  last  short  note  of  a single  archer  ahead,  who 
peers  into  space  with  arrow  set  on  his  half-drawn  string. 

The  pawing  action  of  the  white  horse  is  fine  enough  ; but  what 
shall  we  say  of  the  sudden  leap  of  the  black,  which  centres  the  whole 


From  the  Keion  Roll.  Fenollosa-Weld  Collection,  Boston. 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  193 

van  to  the  eye  ? All  four  feet  have  left  the  ground  at  once.  The 
nostril  of  the  raised  head  is  high  in  air.  The  rider  tries  to  pull  it 
down  by  a vertical  rein.  Though  fault  might  possibly  be  found  with 
some  of  the  anatomical  details  of  the  steed,  particularly  if  enlarged  in 
photography,  yet  on  the  actual  scale  of  only  a few  inches  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  conceive  of  a more  vitally  rendered  action,  or  of  a greater 
beauty  of  gleaming  curves.  If  this  one  makimono  had  been  destroyed, 
as  forty-nine  fiftieths  of  the  old  Tosa  works  have  been  destroyed,  our 
conception  of  the  range  of  Asiatic  art — and  even  of  the  world’s  art — 
would  have  suffered  capital  loss. 

In  the  years  shortly  following  Yoritomo’s  death,  his  dynasty  of 
Shoguns  underwent,  at  Kamakura,  the  same  sort  of  eclipse  which  the 
early  Kioto  Emperors  had  been  dealt  at  the  hands  of  the  Fujiwaras. 
It  was  now  their  Hojo  ministers  who  set  up  puppet  chiefs  and  did  the 
actual  ruling.  It  was  a cruel,  crafty  and  able  race,  this  Hojo  family 
who  could  hold  in  check  a hostile  nation  for  well-nigh  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years.  The  tyranny,  revolts,  and  feudal  hardening  of  these 
days  is  well  shown  in  many  of  the  No  dramas  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
They  had  reigned  hardly  more  than  fifty  years  when  a supreme  test  of 
their  strength  came  in  resisting  the  threatened  invasion  of  the  Mongols, 
who  by  1269  had  conquered  all  Asia  and  half  of  Europe  and  were 
preparing  an  immense  armada  in  China  to  gobble  up  the  outlying  islands. 
Hojo  Tokimune,  the  reigning  Shikken  or  Shogun-guardian,  defied  the 
great  Kublai  Khan  by  twice  beheading  his  commissioners.  When  the 
crash  of  invasion  came  in  the  South  West,  Tokimune’s  army  drove 
the  landing  fighters  into  the  sea,  and  his  navy  achieved  a brilliant  victory 
over  the  crowded  Chinese  junks  on  the  exact  spot  in  the  “Sea  of  Japan” 
where,  six  hundred  years  later,  Admiral  Togo  was  destined  to  destroy 
a second  Tartar  flotilla — of  Russia.  It  is  said  that  Togo  chose  the  site 
partly  for  this  reason,  not  from  vain  sentiment  either,  but  in  firm  belief 
that  the  souls  of  those  defenders  who  died  in  the  earlier  campaign 
would  be  able  effectually  to  assist  the  living  in  the  latter.  It  was  in 
the  year  after  the  Mongol  invasion  that  Nichiren,  the  founder  of  the 
Hokkei  sect,  died  and  was  buried  at  Ikegami,  near  the  present  Tokio. 
In  1316  a library  of  books,  now  also  becoming  rare,  was  founded  at 
Kanazawa  on  the  West  coast.  These  are  the  principal  events  that 
happened  before  the  advent  of  Godaigo  Tenno  and  the  prolonged 
wars  for  the  Imperial  restoration. 


194  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND' JAPANESE  ART 

The  art  of  this  intermediate  day  falls  lower  than  the  brilliant  achieve- 
ments of  Kenkiu.  In  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  the  great 
painters  of  the  main  line,  now  named  Tosa,  were  Tsunetaka,  the  son  of 
Mitsunaga,  and  Yoshinobu,  the  son  of  Tsunetaka.  Tsunetaka’s  line 
is  of  wonderful  delicacy  and  crispness,  without  at  all  reverting  to  the 
imbecility  of  his  grandfather  Takachika.  He  did  not  mass  his  figures 
like  Keion.  He  sometimes  worked  in  black  and  white.  It  is  in 
landscape  and  his  wonderfully  crisp  drawing  of  trees  that  we  see  the 
full-fledged  beauty  of  the  Tosa  background.  His  boatman  poling  through 
the  rapids,  copied  by  Koyetsu,  is  a vigorous  figure. 

Yoshimitsu  essays  a form  which  somewhat  recalls  Nobuzane.  He  has 
given  us  many  crowded  scenes,  not  so  closely  built  as  Keion’s,  but  pulsing 
with  a vigorous  coarse  life.  Especially  fine  are  his  forty-eight  rolls  of  the 
life  of  Honen  Shonin,  owned  by  the  Imperial  household  of  Japan.  A 
group  of  women  descending  the  palace  steps  is  typical  of  his  drawing. 
His  landscape,  throwing  dark  blue  and  green  trees  against  chocolate 
coloured  hills,  is  wonderfully  free  and  impressionistic.  This  Tosa  school 
of  landscape  is  especially  notable,  since  it  so  absolutely  contrasts  as  a 
purely  Japanese  feature  with  the  splendid  Chinese  school  of  Zen  landscape 
that  came  in  a century  later.  Yet  this  Japanese  landscape  is  itself  remotely 
descended  from  an  earlier  pre-Tang  Chinese  style  of  the  sixth  century. 
Into  it,  however,  has  been  infused  the  characteristic  drawing  of  pines  and 
cherries  and  cedars  whose  waving  plumes  crest  the  dear  familiar  hills  that 
surround  Kioto.  As  we  traverse  the  wild  valleys  about  Kozanji,  we  exclaim 
again  and  again  of  the  scenery  : “ How  exactly  like  a Tosa  landscape  ! ” — 
and  that,  too,  down  to  the  minutest  tawny  colour.  Such  mountain  passages 
as  shown  in  Yoshimitsu  landscape  with  wild  cherry  are  the  most  beautiful 
landscape  illumination  in  existence.  This  was  a feature  which  the  earlier 
Tosa  masters  deigned  only  to  suggest.  We  see  again  in  the  Tosa 
gardens  the  little  rounded  hillocks  and  the  small  curving  Japanese  red- 
stemmed pines,  the  “female”  pine,  so  different  from  the  dark  towering 
conifers  of  China  and  of  the  Tokugawa  temples.  Such  little  Tosa  gardens 
might  have  been  seen  lingering  among  the  monasteries  of  Nikko  some 
thirty  years  ago.  En-i  Hogen,  the  painter  of  the  fine  makimonos  at 
Shodaiji  Nara,  has  left  us  some  grand  Tosa  landscape  effects  in  storm  and 
snow. 

In  illuminated  Buddhist  scripture  rolls,  too,  we  find  some  charming 
examples  of  pure  Tosa  decoration,  nearly  contemporary  with  Giottoesque 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  195 

Gothic  manuscripts.  In  one,  a Fujiwara  daimyo  and  his  court  ladies  gaze 
out  through  an  atmosphere  flecked  with  many  sized  gold  flakes  upon  a 
lotos  garden.  The  colour  is  richer  than  the  best  modern  lacquer.  In 
another  the  whole  decorative  band  is  filled  with  coloured  lotos  flowers  and 
leaves.  It  should  be  noted  too  that  as  early  as  1229  Toshiro  founded 
at  Seto,  in  Owari,  the  first  kiln  for  making  artistic  pottery.  His  dark 
brown  glazes  had  something  of  Sung  type  in  them.  The  lacquer  work  of 
the  day  either  had  Tosa  landscape  executed  in  dull  gold  or  black,  or  quite 
Tosa-ish  patterns  of  flower  forms  and  birds  inlaid  in  pearl  upon  a 

powdered  gold  ground.  The  patterns  are  far  less  stiff  and  conventional 
than  the  corresponding  decoration  of  utensils  in  Fujiwara  days.  It  was 
such  impressions  of  garden  scenes,  scenes  that  might  have  been  copied 
from  Yoshimitsu’s  makimonos,  that  Koyetsu  and  Korin  took  for  models 
in  their  great  lacquer  renaissance  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  third  and  fourth  generations  of  Tosa,  Yukimitsu  and  Yukihiro, 
show  still  more  of  a fall.  At  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century 
Yukimitsu  is  more  like  Keion.  Yukihiro  is  still  more  like  him,  only 
reducing  Keion’s  myriad  types  to  two  or  three  and  loosening  the 

composition  into  scattered  masses.  It  is  clear  that  a Tosa  formalism 

is  eating  away  strength. 

It  must  now  be  mentioned  that,  parallel  to  the  family  schools  of 
Fujiwara  and  Tosa,  a set  of  descendants  of  both  the  Kose  and  Takuma 
painters  still  flourished,  and  these  by  the  fourteenth  century  began 
to  do  secular  work  on  makimons,  in  addition  to  their  traditional 
manufacture  of  altar  pieces.  It  was  one  of  these  Koses,  Nazataka — 
his  full  name  and  title  being  “ Echizen  no  kami  Nazataka” — who  has 
left  us  a contemporary  panorama  of  Tokimune’s  destruction  of  the 
Mongol  fleet.  Kose  Korehisa  has  left  some  fine  large  groups  of 
warriors  in  colour.  The  Kose  line  continued  to  be  a little  harder 
and  more  wiry  than  the  Tosa.  By  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth 

century  these  parallel  and  friendly  schools  began  to  have  an  influence 
upon  each  other,  approximating  more  and  more  to  a common  type, 
so  that  it  becomes  difficult  to  tell  apart,  say,  Tosa  Yukihida,  Kose 
Arishige  and  Takuma  Rioson. 

The  last  stages  of  the  first  Shogunate,  that  is,  the  Kamakura 
domination,  began  with  a new  series  of  civil  wars  opening  with  the 
attempted  freeing  of  the  Emperor  Godaigo  Tenno  in  1331.  The 
Hojo  tyrants  had  become  most  unpopular.  Story  and  song  had  aroused 


196  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

pity  with  tales  of  threadbare  Emperors.  Godaigo  himself  had  the 
desire  to  assert  an  independence  which  no  Emperor  had  enjoyed  since 
the  year  900,  and  which  no  one  should  again  enjoy  until  the  accession 
of  the  present  Mutsuhito  in  1868.  Godaigo  authorized  the  great 
Kusunoki  Masashige  and  Nitta  Yoshisada  to  fight  for  him  against 
the  Kamakura  usurpers.  With  the  Imperial  army  was,  at  first,  a crafty 
general,  Ashikaga  Takanji,  who  afterward  became  jealous  of  his  fellow- 
conquerors  of  Kamakura,  revolted  against  Kusunoki  and  the  Emperor, 
and  proclaimed  himself  Shogun  under  a Northern  Emperor  of  his  own 
choosing  (1337).  After  three  years  of  independence  Godaigo  is  utterly 
defeated  by  Takanji,  and  the  despairing  Kusunoki,  courting  death,  is 
killed.  It  was  the  remembered  tragedy  of  these  moving  days  that 
steeled  the  arms  of  Satsuma  and  Choshu  in  their  war  for  Imperial 
restoration  in  1868.  Saigo  Takamori  was  hailed  as  a second  Kusunoki; 
loyalty  to  the  Emperor  and  hatred  to  the  Shogun  became  a passion. 
Down  to  the  Russian  war  Kusunoki  has  always  been  celebrated  as 
the  ideal  samurai,  and  Japan’s  greatest  hero.  How  far  Togo  and 
Nogi  have  now  supplanted  him  in  national  affection  remains  to  be  seen. 

The  followers  of  Kusunoki,  however,  would  not  give  up  the 
unequal  fight,  and  maintained  a guerilla  civil  warfare  against  Takanji 
and  his  successors  for  years,  also  maintaining  a separate  Southern 
Emperor  in  their  fortresses  about  Yoshino.  It  was  not  until  as  late 
as  1392  that  the  Southern  Emperor  finally  gave  up  to  his  suc- 
cessful rival  at  Kioto,  thus  legitimizing  to  all  eyes  the  power  of 
Ashikaga.  It  is  hard  to  say  quite  when  the  first  feudal  period  falls 
and  the  second  begins.  Kamakura  and  the  Hojo  fell  in  1333. 
Ashikaga  was  proclaimed  Kioto  Shogun  in  1337  ; but  he  merely  kept  up 
the  traditions  of  the  Kamakura  court  in  another  place.  Takanji  was, 
it  is  true,  temporarily  beaten  by  the  Southern  party  and  driven  from 
Kioto  in  1351,  and  he  died  in  1358  without  really  knowing  whether 
or  not  he  had  left  a successful  and  permanent  dynasty.  On  the  other 
hand  it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  wait  for  the  final  collapse  of  the 
Southern  party  in  1392  in  order  to  recognize  that  a permanent  change 
has  come.  The  third  Ashikaga  became  Kioto  Shogun  in  1368 — 
Ashikaga  Yoshimitsu,  a powerful  man  with  a deliberately  new  policy, 
who  practically  ruled  all  but  a small  portion  of  Japan.  This,  too,  is 
the  exact  date  of  the  advent  of  the  native  Chinese  Ming  dynasty 
which  had  first  overthrown  the  Mongols.  We  shall  adopt  this  date, 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN  197 

therefore,  as  not  only  a convenient  but  a real  demarcation  between  the 
civilization  and  art  of  the  Kamakura  period  and  the  Ashikaga  period. 

It  was  in  these  last  days  of  civil  war  that  the  Tosa  art  became 
weakest.  As  an  example  of  fairly  good  work,  we  may  show  a copy 
of  the  equestrian  portrait  of  Ashikaga  Takanji,  by  perhaps  Tosa 
Awataguchi  Takanitsu.  The  family  had  now  divided  into  many 
branches  ; a new  school  of  artists  had  come  forward,  the  Shiba,  whose 
style  seems  to  be  a real  but  weak  mixture  of  Kose,  Tosa,  and 
Takuma.  The  descendants  of  the  Tosa,  Hirochika,  and  Mitsunobu 
lapsed  over  into  solid  Ashikaga  days,  and  will  be  spoken  of  under 
Chapter  XIV. 

Yet  I have  now,  before  quite  closing  this  chapter,  to  speak  of 
several  phases  of  Kamakura  art  which  went  on  parallel  to  the  main 
stream  of  secular  makimono  painting  which  I have  already  described. 
I preferred  to  treat  makimono  painting  first  as  a whole,  because  it 
is  the  most  typical  and  striking  innovation  of  this  purely  Japanese 
school.  We  have  already  seen  that  beside  the  makimono,  the  greatest 
artists  of  this  school  were  celebrated  for  their  portraits.  It  is  natural 
that  portraiture  should  have  become  a marked  feature  of  a day  which 
adored  individuality.  The  finest  painted  portraits  were  those  done  by 
Takanobu  and  Nobuzane.  Takanobu’s  great  portrait  of  Yoritomo  we 
have  already  mentioned.  Nobuzane’s  famous  portraits  of  the  thirty-six 
poets  are  the  most  original  things  of  their  kind  in  Japan.  His  Ono 
no  Komachi  and  his  Hitomaro  are  the  most  celebrated.  His  large 
portrait  of  the  seated  Hitomaro,  owned  by  Mr.  Kawasaki,  of  Kobe,  is 
finer  than  all.  The  individual  portrait  of  a fat  Fujiwara  noble  has 
been  immortalized  by  Koyetsu’s  copy.  His  portrait  of  Ono  no  Tofu 
practising  caligraphy  is  another  fine  piece  of  humour.  Still  other 
painted  portraits,  mostly  by  artists  of  the  Takuma  school,  are  repre- 
sentations of  priests.  The  finest  of  these  has  been  lately  acquired  by 
the  Louvre  Museum  at  Paris,  where  it  is  reckoned  one  of  the  supreme 
Oriental  treasures.  Its  pure  delineation  suggests  perfect  modelling ; 
indeed  it  suggests  the  strength  of  a Holbein. 

But  what  I have  in  mind  is  that  the  Kenkiu  people  soon  saw 
that  sculpture  might  be  a more  effective  medium  for  portraiture  than 
painting.  Sculpture  had  been  used  sparingly  as  a subordinate  art  all 
through  Fujiwara  days;  the  revival  of  Jocho  in  the  eleventh  century  being 
the  only  notable  one  after  the  introduction  of  mystic  Buddhist  painting. 


1 98  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

Before  that,  of  course,  Nara  had  made  sculpture  the  chief  medium  of 
her  whole  culture,  and  with  this  she  had  executed  some  fine  portraiture. 
But  never  before  had  sculptured  portraits  been  made  an  important 
part  of  professional  work.  Of  course  the  new  sculpture  that  came  in 
with  Yoritomo  was  not  entirely  confined  to  portraiture,  as  we  shall 
see  in  a moment.  Two  great  men,  Wunkei  and  Tankei,  whose 

names  are  as  familiar  to  every  modern  Japanese  as  Donatello  and 
Michael  Angelo  to  us,  inaugurated  a new  school  of  sculpture  in  these 
violent  days  of  Yoritomo ; and,  since  individuality  was  becoming  the 
key  note  of  the  new  life,  they  naturally  gave  great  prominence  to 
portraiture.  In  this  they  were  followed  by  several  generations  of 
sculptors  who  applied  their  methods,  but  with  weakening  skill — -just 
as  the  Makimono  painters  became  degenerate  imitators  of  Keion — 
down  to  the  end  of  the  Kamakura  period.  We  may  thus  make  the 
interesting  generalization  that  what  is  new  in  the  art  of  this  third 
period  of  Japanese  life  can  be  summed  up  in  historical  painting  and 
portrait  sculpture. 

First  among  the  many  such  statues  that  have  come  down  to  us — 
portraits  of  priests,  artists,  Shoguns,  guardians  and  temple-donors — 
are  the  effigies  of  Wunkei  and  Tankei  themselves,  self-carved.  Their 
medium  is  now  entirely  wood,  practically  ignoring  the  bronze,  clay 
and  lacquer  compositions  of  the  Yamato  Era.  We  see  Wunkei  in  the 
form  of  a somewhat  round-shouldered  bald-pated  priest,  telling  his 
beads.  Another  portrait  of  a famous  old  priest,  with  a long,  hard 
monkey  face,  is  of  their  school.*  Perhaps  the  finest  of  all  in  this 
line  are  the  six  seated  portraits  of  priests  that  occupy  the  front  of 
the  new  tiled  altar  of  the  Chukondo  at  Tofukuji  in  Nara.  It  was 
indeed  at  Nara,  and  as  Nara  sculptors,  that  Wunkei  and  Tankei 
did  a great  deal  of  their  work,  and  an  important  branch  of  their 
disciples  located  at  Nara;  so  that  Nara,  through  the  Tosa  age,  became, 
with  its  corps  of  sculptors  and  its  dramatic  troupes — all  acting  in  the 
service  of  the  temples,  chiefly  the  Shinto-Buddhist  construction  of 
Kasuga-Kofukuji — an  even  greater  centre  of  culture  than  the  stricken 
Kioto.  Even  such  painters  as  Keion,  too,  went  down  from  the  capital 
to  work  for  Nara. 

The  six  sculptured  priests  have  not  only  great  strength  of 
drapery  line  but  absolutely  individualised  heads,  and  faces  working 
•This  monkey-faced  priest  is  now  said  by  Japanese  critics  to  be  Wunkei,  by  himself. 


Portrait  Statue  of  Asangba. 

At  Kofukuji,  Nara, 


Portrait  Statue  of  a Priest. 


Nio.  By  Wunkei. 


Portrait  Statue  of  Wunkei. 


Portrait  Statue  of  Hojo, 
the  Fifth  of  the 
Kamakura  Guardians. 


199 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN 

in  the  expression  of  deep  personal  emotion.  The  finest,  perhaps,  is 
the  somewhat  thin  individual  with  the  broken  right  ear  whose 
photograph  we  reproduce.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  dis- 
coloration of  the  flesh  tones  is  due  to  the  disintegration  of  the 
pigment  with  age  ; but  it  does  not  hide  the  perfect  finish  of  muscle, 
and  tendon,  and  wrinkle,  nor  the  minute  veining  of  the  hands.  The 
neck,  seen  through  the  open  collar  of  his  keisa,  is  - a specially  fine 
piece  of  work.  The  earnestness  of  the  prayer  has  clenched  the  hands 
almost  to  the  point  of  swelling,  There  is  not  the  slightest  attempt 
at  aesthetic  pose.  The  man  has  fallen  to  his  knees  in  absorbed 
devotion — an  ecstacy  of  mortal  fear  and  longing — and  his  collar  has 
become  disarranged  in  the  long  heat  of  his  effort.  It  is  indeed 
analagous  to  the  realism  of  Spanish  Renaissance  portraits  of  monks, 
also  done  in  painted  wood.  Compared  to  such  Japanese  portraits 
the  most  famous  work  of  early  Egyptian  or  later  Assyrian  artists, 
though  in  itself  admirable  enough,  becomes  utterly  outclassed  for  a 
perfect  primitive  realism.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  these  statues 
appear  on  the  same  altar  with  the  imported  Nara  statues  of  the 
Indian  sculpture,  and  with  the  two  colossal  Tang  portraits  of 
Asangpo  and  Vasabandhu,  from  whose  style  and  power  it  is  probably 
true  that  Wunkei  derived  a good  part  of  his  inspiration.  Indeed, 
so  alike  are  the  two  styles  that  some  Japanese  archaeologists  are 
inclined  to  include  the  larger  works  also  among  the  products  of 
Wunkei’s  time. 

Another  fine  line  of  portraits  are  of  leading  Kamakura  lords  and 
generals,  in  their  characteristic  costume  of  tall,  pointed  lacquer  hat 
and  enormous  baggy  trousers  that  half  conceal  the  feet.  That  which 
we  reproduce  is  a portrait  of  Hojo  Tokiyori,  the  fifth  of  the 
line  of  Kamakura  guardians,  who  administered  from  1246  to  1261. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  he  sits,  not  upon  his  knees  as  modern 
Japanese,  nor  cross-legged  “ as  a Tartar,”  but  with  his  raised  knees 
as  far  apart  as  possible  consistently  with  the  bringing  the  soles  of  his 
feet  together  in  front  of  him.  It  is  here  that  we  must  call  atten- 
tion to  the  sacred  sculpture,  much  of  it  extraordinarily  fine,  which 
Wunkei  and  Tankei  inaugurated  at  the  outset  of  the  Kamakura  era. 
I have  not  before  in  this  chapter  dwelt  upon  religious  art,  because  I 
wished  especially  to  focus  attention  upon  the  remarkable  and  quite 
new  secular  art,  whose  very  human  qualities  effect  the  chief  innovation 


200  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

in  that  Buddhist  art  which  would  otherwise  have  remained  tra- 
ditional and  dead.  Of  course  even  the  old  forms  of  it  did  not 
altogether  cease.  Horiuji  still  preserves  the  sect  even  of  Suiko  Tenno  ; 
Yakushiji  and  Todaiji  bring  Nara  worship  down  to  our  own  day  ; 
Shingon  is  still  a powerful  influence  in  Japan  ; and  Enriakuji  of 
Hiyei-zan  still  boasts  the  succession  of  its  Tendai  popes,  the  last  of 
whom,  formerly  priest  of  Nanshoin,  was  one  of  my  Buddhist  teachers. 
The  demand  for  the  old  altar  pieces  therefore  did  not  altogether  die 
away,  and  there  were  simpler  forms  demanded  for  the  new  democratic 
sects. 

The  best  known  works  of  Wunkei  and  Tankei,  on  these  lines, 
are  perhaps  Buddhist  “ Gate  Guardians  (Ni-o)  and  Altar  Guardians 
(Shi-tenno).”  Of  the  former  class  the  largest  examples  are  the  colossal 
statues  in  the  great  gateway  of  Todaiji  at  Nara.  The  most  violent 
and  complete  in  muscular  and  vein  development  are  the  two,  life 
size,  which  occupy  the  front  corners  of  the  Chukondo  altar  at 
Kofukuji.  Dr.  Anderson  of  England  has  gone  into  panegyrics  over 
these  as  the  finest  statues  in  Japan.  But  to  our  mind  they  are 
too  mannered  and  distorted  in  their  pose,  and  their  overdone  violence 
is  even  repulsive.  Yet  in  knowledge  of  muscle,  in  swing  of  drapery 
from  the  waist  and  in  force  of  motion,  they  evidently  form  part  of  the 
same  epoch  with  Nobuzane’s  courtiers  and  Keion’s  soldiers.  It  may  be 
noted  that  from  this  era  onward  the  eyes  are  generally  set  with  carved 
crystal,  instead  of  remaining  part  of  the  basic  wood.  In  Nara  days  the 
pupils  of  the  eye  only  had  been  sometimes  inlaid  with  a cylinder  of  dark 
mineral.  But  now  white  was  inserted  under  the  crystal  to  show  the 
whole  cornea. 

Of  Wunkei’s  Shi-tenno  there  are  many  fine  examples  ; typical  are 
those  of  Toindo  at  Yakushiji,  and  Seigwanji  of  Kioto.  The  whole 
group  of  Bodhisattwa,  saints  and  deva,  upon  the  central  altar  of  Sanji 
sanji  san  gendo  at  Kioto  are  very  fine  works  of  a generation  or  two 
later.  Buddhas  and  Amidas  we  have  in  hundreds  ; some  of  the  most 
delicate,  carved  of  plain  wood  and  gilded,  dating  from  the  later 
thirteenth  century.  But  of  Buddhas  we  must,  of  course,  give  the  palm 
to  the  colossal  bronze  Buddha  of  Kamakura,  so  well  known  to  modern 
travellers.  This  was  erected  by  the  efforts  of  a priest  whose  name 
is  not  known.  It  has  been  described  by  many  foreign  writers  in 
terms  of  great  praise  ; and  it  has  entered  into  English  literature,  both 


201 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN 

in  verse  and  fiction.  The  important  thing  to  say  about  it,  next  to  its 
size  and  its  great  feeling  of  calm  (which  belongs  to  all  good  Buddhas)  is 
that  its  assthetic  quality  is  that  of  the  type  that  follows  in  the  next 
generation  after  Wunkei.  Compared  with  painters,  it  makes  me  think  of 
Tosa  Yoshimitsu,  rather  than  of  Keion  and  Mitsunaga.  As  contrasted 
with  the  Nara  colossus,  it  is  far  finer  ; not  because  the  art  of  the  day 
is  more  enlightened  than  Yamato  art  had  been  ; but  because  while  the 
Nara  Buddha  is  the  clumsy  work  of  a decadent  age  the  Kamakura 
bronze  comes  just  after  the  culmination  of  its  day.  The  former’s 
place  is  far  down  a descending  curve ; the  latter’s  on  the  descent 
indeed,  but  still  near  the  top.  Very  beautiful  and  graceful  works  of 
the  same  day  are  the  six  large  Kwannons  carved  out  of  unpainted 
wood  in  the  Roku  Kwando  of  Northern  Kioto. 

Fourteenth  century  sculptures  of  the  Wunkei  school  are  common, 
but  weaker.  In  grotesques  much  charm  remains,  specially  in  the  Kasuga 
lantern  bearer  by  Kobun.  Here  we  have  a Buddhist  imp,  by  no  means  a 
bad  sort  of  fellow,  in  the  painful  muscular  effort  of  holding  up  a heavy 
weight.  A late  fourteenth-century  stage  of  the  art,  still  admirable,  is 
shown  in  the  Shingon  bronze  group  of  the  early  mystic  pilgrim,  Enno 
Gioji,  and  his  two  familiar  mountain  spirits.  Here,  the  weakened  pro- 
portions and  the  unquiet  surfaces,  not  clearly  bounded  in  line  feeling, 
show,  in  sculpture,  the  same  poverty  of  styles  which  we  find  in  con- 
temporary pictorial  work  with  the  Shiba  school.  From  that  day  on 
Buddhist  sculpture  fell  into  a kind  of  manufacture,  like  Italian  mosaic- 
ing,  without  reference  to  name  or  fame.  The  last  professional  Butsshi 
was  a young  man  whose  workshop,  stocked  with  ancient  and  modern 
portraits,  Buddhas  and  carved  works,  I visited  in  1882  in  Tera  machi 
(“  temple-street  ”)  of  Kioto.  He  died  a few  years  later,  and  the 
tradition  was  lost,  except  in  sporadic  amateur  work  among  a few 
Shingon  and  Tendai  priests. 

Before  closing  I ought  surely  to  refer  to  the  parallel  Buddhist  work 
that  was  done  in  painting,  mostly  by  the  self-same  Tosa,  Kose, 
Takuma  and  Shiga  artists  who  won  their  most  original  fame  upon  the 
secular  makimono.  All  these  artists  worked  at  times  upon  hieratic  altar 
pieces.  With  the  painters  that  had  come  down  from  Fujiwara  days — 
Kasuga,  Kose  and  Takuma — such  work  was,  of  course,  traditional.  But 
it  had  fallen  into  extreme  weakness  and  effeminacy  before  the  days  of 
Yoritomo  ; and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  new  life-blood  infused  by 


202  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

secular  work  it  would  hardly  be  worth  serious  mention  as  a phase  of 
Kamakura  art.  There  is,  of  course,  in  the  latter,  plenty  of  formal 
weakness — mere  artisan  persistence  in  the  manufacture  of  gilt  Amidas  and 
flying  Bodhisattwa.  But  besides  this  the  age  and  the  artists  put  new 
wine  into  the  old  bottles,  making  more  human,  more  dramatic,  more 
filled  with  motion,  the  hierarchical  compositions  demanded  for  the 
accepted  sects.  In  short,  the  Tosa  makimono  drawing  was  used  for  it. 

Chief  of  this  semi-new  school  of  sacred  painting  were  the  Tosas 
themselves.  Keion  has  left  us  charming— often  very  minute — views  of 
the  grounds  and  buildings  of  Kasuga  temple  at  Nara,  arranged  as  a 
Tosa  landscape  background,  against  which  gilded  and  coloured  gods 
descend,  the  Buddhist  analogues  of  Shinto  deities.  Tsunetaka  is  noted 
for  his  whirls  of  the  star-gods,  beautiful  Buddhist  figures,  the  spirits 
of  the  planets,  sweeping  on  clouds  through  the  sky,  as  orbs  about  the 
central  pole.  One  of  the  finest  examples  is  the  star-mandara  of  Boston, 
which  1 bought  as  a sacred  treasure  from  Sumiyoshi  Hirokata  on  his 
death-bed,  along  with  the  Takanobu  Shotoku  series.  Another  example 
is  in  Mr.  Freer’s  collection.  Yoshimitsu  is  specially  noted  for  his 
Shingon  pieces,  of  which  sect  there  was  a notable  revival  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  Dai-nichis,  Fudos,  and  Aizens.  The  finest  pieces  of 
this  Tosa  Mandara  work  are  in  Daigoji  of  Yamashino.  We  reproduce 
here  the  Yoshimitsu  Dai-nichi  of  Boston. 

Next  to  the  Tosa  come  in  importance  a whole  new  generation  of 
Kose  artists,  probably  blood  descendants  of  Kanawoka  and  Hirotaka. 
Beginning  with  Kose  Genkei  in  the  days  of  Kiyomori  and  Yoritomo, 
they  also  introduced  into  their  altar  pieces,  even  before  they  essayed 
makimono,  the  freer  drawing  and  the  more  personal  spirit  that  the  age 
demanded.  A splendid  example  is  Genkei’s  Jizo  Mandara  in  Mr. 
Freer’s  collection  ; of  which  the  composition  is  not  unlike  that  which 
Raphael  often  borrowed  from  the  Umbrian  school,  a gentle  Jizo,  of 
mixed  gold  and  colours,  seated  on  high  on  a circular  halo,  while 
below,  relieved  against  a mountain  background  cleft  with  a stream, 
stand  right  and  left  in  two  crowds,  realistic  figures  of  devas,  saints  and 
kings,  and  a spirit,  kneeling  before  the  cleft,  and  in  front  of  the  two 
groups,  reads  from  a large  white  scroll,  thus  completing  the  central 
axis  of  a magnificent  composition.  Fourteenth  century  Kose  altar  pieces 
become  again  suave  and  hieratic,  more  like  the  graceful  Amidas,  and 
Kwannons  of  lacquered  sculpture.  A Kwannon  from  a Yeishin-like 


The  Kasuga  Lantern-bearer.  By  Kobun. 
Kasuga  Temple,  Nara. 


203 


FEUDAL  ART  IN  JAPAN 

trinity,  with  the  traditional  gold  diaper  pattern,  by  Kose  Arishige,  is  in 
Detroit.  The  Shiba  school,  as  of  Rinken,  exemplified  in  Boston,  shows 
a late  scrolly  stage  of  prettiness,  approaching  the  Byzantine  formula  of 
Mount  Athos. 

A final  word  must  now  be  said  covering  the  family  and  school  of 
the  Takumas,  also  descended  from  Fujiwara  days.  Their  history, 
though  interconnected  with  the  others,  is  slightly  different.  While  they 
sometimes  painted  to  Shingon  order,  their  special  work  seems  to  have 
been  to  minister  to  the  pictorial  needs  of  the  new  Zen  sect  of  Buddhism 
which  was  slowly  finding  its  way  into  Japan  from  the  Sung  of  China. 
It  is  in  the  next  chapter  that  I am  to  speak  chiefly  of  Zen,  which  already 
in  Northern  Sung  had  influenced  to  some  extent  even  Ririomin.  It 
is  enough  to  say  that  the  style  of  Ririomin,  as  the  Sung  continuer  of 
the  Godoshi  movement,  began  to  pass  over  into  Japan  with  the 
immigrants  who  founded  the  Zen  temples.  This  early  patronage  of 
Zen  was  rather  specially  a matter  of  the  Hojo  at  Kamakura,  who  were 
glad  to  accept  any  spiritual  makeweight  against  the  prestige  of  the 
older  Kioto  sects.  Thus  the  Zen  temple  of  Kenchoji  in  Kamakura, 
still  standing,  was  built  by  the  Shikken  Tokiyori,  the  same  Hojo  whose 
portrait  statue  we  have  already  seen  in  1253.  Other  great  Kamakura 
Zen  erections  followed  soon  after.  The  great  Kioto  Zen  temples  came 
mostly  after,  as  we  shall  see  in  Chapter  XII. 

The  Takuma  style  of  this  third  period  may  be  described  as  a mixture 
of  the  leaden  lines  and  nobler  proportions  of  Ririomin  with  the  liveness 
and  soft  nervous  brushwork  of  the  Tosa.  In  making  the  combination 
they  learned  to  spread  the  hairs  of  their  soft  brush  to  far  wider  strokes 
than  the  Tosas,  in  drawing  the  accented  portions  of  lines.  Takuma 
Shoga  was  the  great  master  of  this  sort  of  work,  after  Kukin.  He 
lived  in  the  mountains  of  Takawo  to  the  north-west  of  Kioto,  not 

far  from  Kozanji,  where  his  great  set  of  the  twelve  Ten  Bapteri 

Bodhisattwa  are  still  kept.  One  of  these,  the  Kwaten,  or  God  of  Fire, 
shows  a fine  old  fellow,  the  hairs  of  whose  gray  head  are  swept  out 

into  the  draught  which  the  flame  of  his  halo  creates.  Another,  the 

moon  Goddess,  is  of  a young  graceful  figure  seen  in  profile,  holding 
up  in  a golden  dish  a crescent  moon  with  a rabbit  in  it.  The  force 
of  the  former  suggests  something  of  a Durer  drawing  ; the  charm  of 
the  latter,  with  its  sweeping  drapery  lines,  is  like  a Boticelli.  The 
great  Louvre  portrait  of  a priest,  probably  Zen,  already  noted,  is 


204  EPOCHS  OF  CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ART 

probably  by  Shoga.  His  followers,  Erichibo,  Rioga,  Rioson,  Choga 
and  Yeiga  continued  the  style,  at  times  falling  closely  under  Kose  and 
Tosa  influence  ; but  in  the  main  it  can  be  said,  that  with  the  clues 
furnished  by  Ririomin  and  the  first  Zen  apostles,  Takuma  art  is 
really  the  only  one  of  Kamakura  which  forms  a sort  of  transition  to 
the  wave  of  Sung  influence  which  in  the  next  period  overflowed  the 
art  of  Ashikaga. 


END  OF  VOL  i. 


BRADBURY,  AGNEW  & CO.,  LTD.,  PRINTERS,  LONDON  AND  TONBRIDGE. 


GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 


